


At the Extremes of Light

by Mice



Series: Sea Change [19]
Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Propaganda, The Scarlet Brotherhood, The Syndicate - Freeform, being domestic, political plotting, spies being spies, the crew of the Bold Arva - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:14:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27648038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mice/pseuds/Mice
Summary: The Scarlet Brotherhood situation comes to a head and Mathias heads for Northrend on the Bold Arva to try to sort things out. Things there are worse than he thought.
Relationships: Flynn Fairwind/Mathias Shaw
Series: Sea Change [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875685
Comments: 127
Kudos: 60





	1. Reluctant Allies

Flynn was in the kitchen when Mathias got home, with a bottle in one hand and a spoon in his mouth. With the other hand, he was stirring something on the stove. Mathias got the distinct whiff of Kul Tiran fish oil in the room and tilted his head as he closed the door behind him. "Flynn?"

"Hmmm?" Flynn looked over at him, the handle of the spoon poking out from between his lips.

"Are you… eating a spoonful of fish oil?" Mathias asked, befuddled.

Flynn blinked. "Yeff?" he said. He set down the bottle of oil and took the spoon out of his mouth. "I mean, yes?"

Mathias shuddered. " _Why_ are you eating fish oil by the spoonful?"

Flynn set down the spoon and corked the bottle. "Because you don't like it so I haven't been putting it in anything. But… well… it's kind of a comfort food thing for me, really. So I have a little slurp now and then."

"That's… disgusting." Mathias's stomach twitched at the thought.

Flynn looked at him in disbelief as he set the bottle on the counter. "You lot eat _giant spiders_ , Mathias. I saw a recipe for murloc fin soup last week -- somebody might eat Sir Fishy! And you have the gall to complain about fish oil?"

"But that's--"

Flynn's eyebrows went up. "Different? Not kinda disgusting? Come on." He dropped the spoon in the sink with a little metal-on-ceramic clank. "It's all about what you're used to, isn't it?"

Mathias thought about it. "I suppose so," he said, shrugging. "And you don't have to never use the stuff. It's just… weird in food that's supposed to be sweet, is all." He'd never really learned much about cooking because he'd never had either the time or the inclination. He'd spent most of his life eating at inns, or taking whatever people brought to his desk and put in front of him. He _could_ cook some basic things, but it was more survival than pleasure. The fact that Flynn was willing to cook for him, and that they'd sometimes manage to make something together beyond coffee and spice bread toast, always left him with a little ache of love in his chest.

"You'd be okay with me using it except in desserts, then?" He gave Mathias a hopeful look. The fact that Flynn looked like that left a little crack in Mathias's heart; his husband had apparently been denying himself this small, ordinary comfort because Mathias had expressed a distaste for it before. 

"Of course," Mathias said, reaching out to him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Flynn shrugged. "For a while, it was hard to get you to eat anything at all, and you avoided anything with the oil in it, so I stopped using it." He looked at the bottle and tucked it back in the cooler. "You were just--"

Mathias nodded. "I know, I know. Please, don't remind me." The last thing he wanted was to keep hearing about how he'd nearly died.

"Sorry." Flynn's voice was quiet but he slipped into his open arms, holding Mathias close. He rested his forehead on Flynn's shoulder. Flynn's fingers slipped into his hair. "You're sure you're okay with me using it, then?"

He sighed and held Flynn tight, his fingers clenching in the cloth of his husband's shirt. "Yes, it's fine. Kiss me, hmm?"

"I probably taste like fish."

"I don't care. Kiss me." Flynn tilted his chin up with one hand, looking him in the eyes, then leaned down and gave him a soft, tentative kiss. He did taste a little of fish, but Mathias didn't particularly mind, and kissed him back, deep and reassuring. Flynn relaxed into it and sighed, a small, pleased sound as they held each other.

He nuzzled Mathias's face. "What's the news today?" Flynn's hands slid up his sides and he tugged at the buckles to Mathias's spaulders. Mathias helped him remove them and went to put them on the armor stand in the bedroom. Flynn trailed along. "Anything new on Lord Stick Up His Ass?"

Mathias shook his head as he put his spaulders on the stand and removed his belt and unbuckled the leather corset. Flynn's hands slid underneath, warm and solid, as Mathias tugged the armor off. "We still have some extra eyes on the flat here, and on the _Arva._ " He looked over his shoulder at Flynn, who pressed the length of his body against Mathias's back. "I don't want him coming after you again. He's unlikely to make the same mistake twice."

"Yeah, I don't really want to end up with a dagger in my kidney." He tugged Mathias's underlayer off over his head, and Mathias raised his arms to let him. "I doubt he'll be quite stupid enough to try the whole gloat at me before he stabs me thing again."

"I don't want him getting close enough to even think about it," Mathias grumbled, pulling away to sit on the bed and tug his boots off. Flynn got him clean clothes from a drawer and tossed them onto the bed as he took off the rest of his armor. "Thanks."

"You don't think he'd go after you?" Flynn leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

Mathias put on the clothing he'd got out for him. "It's possible. I'm not going to dwell on it. I have enough on my mind as it is."

"Fair enough. Dinner'll be ready in about an hour. Come sit with me for a bit?" He smiled and Mathias followed him into the other room.

***

"We've got our people in place in New Hearthglen now," Rell said, handing Mathias the folder. "It'll be a few days before we get anything back from them. Our embeds are going to take longer; we need to find a couple of Paladins to work with us."

Mathias nodded. "I'll talk to Wyrmbane about it later today. They'll have to be human. There's only so much we'll get through covert surveillance from the Rogues, unfortunately."

Rell sat by Mathias's desk. "If we discover whether or not Bloodspear actually lives, we can count it as a success."

He folded his hands together on his desk. "That would be useful. We also need to find out if they actually have anyone they're purporting to be the Menethil heir. Where is he? Who is he? How old is he? What do they have him doing? He couldn't be more than twenty at the absolute oldest. If they're smart they'll have tried to find someone who at least vaguely resembles her."

"It is best that we know what we're up against," Rell agreed. "Where would they have got a child?"

Mathias shrugged. "A war orphan, the child of a pair of members, it's hard telling. What we _can_ assume is that the boy will believe he's a Menethil."

"What are we going to do when we find him?" Rell's eyes were tight and uneasy.

"I don't know." Mathias sighed, looking down at his hands for a moment. "Assuming the kid exists, he'll have been brainwashed. He's going to believe that the Scarlet Brotherhood will make him a king." He looked back up at Rell. "I don't know if that sort of programming can be broken."

"A conundrum," Rell said.

"One for another day." Mathias thought about how long it had taken him to realize that he didn't have to live by all his grandmother's rules, that he wasn't solely what his grandmother had made him. If they had a Pretender to the throne, though, that wasn't going to give them much time -- or much chance -- to convince the boy of the false nature of the Scarlet claim.

Early that evening, Mathias waited in the shadows of Wyrmbane's quarters. He'd entered silently and unseen, knowing that the discussion he had to have with the Paladin needed to remain secret. When Wyrmbane entered, Mathias stepped forward into the soft lamplight.

Wyrmbane startled. "Shaw. What are you doing here?"

"I needed to speak to you. Privately."

Wyrmbane laid his helm aside. Mathias had only rarely seen him without it. There were moments when he wondered if the man slept in his armor; not that Mathias had never done the same in the field himself occasionally. "I have an office, Shaw," he grumbled.

Mathias shook his head. "I couldn't be seen contacting you. Our communication on this matter must be held in the strictest secrecy."

Wyrmbane's piercing grey eyes met his. "What is of such grave importance that it can't be discussed in the light of day?"

"You have no doubt seen the Scarlet Brotherhood propaganda that's taken hold in the last few months?" Wyrmbane nodded and sat, waiting for him to continue. "How much of it has been bandied about by members of the 7th Legion? And how many Paladins have begun to question reality based on these lies?"

"I've kept that tripe in check, Shaw. What's this really about?"

"Things have grown worse. I've recently got word that the Scarlet Brotherhood has joined forces with the Syndicate, giving them a small base of operations in the Arathi Highlands, which we are attempting to bring under control. Worse, last week we foiled an assassination plot against the High King."

"What?" He bolted to his feet.

Mathias held up a hand. "Two of the three would-be assassins were killed. A third is being held and questioned, though at this point we're fairly certain he's too invested in the conspiracy to give us any useful information. We did, however, lay our hands on a coded message."

"Which said?" Wyrmbane was grim.

Mathias sighed. "It makes reference to Yana Bloodspear, and New Hearthglen."

Wyrmbane's breath left him as though he had been punched. "Bloodspear? Light take them. I knew we should have razed every one of their strongholds when we had the chance." He looked at Mathias again. "Do you know for sure if she's alive?"

He shook his head. "I've got people on the ground in New Hearthglen as of this morning. It'll be a few days before we can get any kind of report back. But this will call for more than rogues and stealth."

"I can have my people go in and eradicate--"

"No," Mathias said, holding up a hand. "What I need are infiltrators. One or two of your most trusted Paladins, who would be capable of going in, looking like new recruits to their cause, to gain their trust. We need to find out if they actually do have a young man they're claiming is a Menethil heir. But they would need to be people who can be trusted not to turn to the extremism of the Scarlet propaganda machine. I'm concerned that many Paladins would find their certainty a little too appealing."

"You don't trust Turalyon." Wyrmbane's eyes narrowed.

He shook his head again. "Not on this. I fear his own zeal would mesh too finely with theirs at this point. His eagerness to find Sylvanas and bring her to justice is all well and good, but… what would he do if he were faced with a group that would place the eradication of the undead before the safety of King Wrynn and the stability of the Alliance?"

Wyrmbane blinked a few times, and looked away, restive and pondering. He scratched his grey beard. Finally, he looked back at Mathias. "I don't know. I'm uneasy with some of the things I've heard regarding his actions around the time you were taken prisoner."

"Just so."

Wyrmbane gestured to one of his chairs and sat in another. "I never believed I would be contemplating subterfuge with a Rogue while being concerned over Turalyon's zeal."

"Welcome to my world," Mathias said as he sat.

"What do we need to do?"

*** 

Flynn woke from a disturbed sleep on the sofa at the sound of the door opening. He shook off the lethargy and sat as Mathias entered. "Is everything all right?" he asked, his voice rough with sleep. "You're not usually this late with no notice." His husband didn't look distressed, just tired, so Flynn let himself relax slightly.

"Everything's fine," Mathias said, sounding about as tired as Flynn felt. "I'm fine."

"Nobody would tell me where you were." He got up to go hug the man, who sighed and rested his head on Flynn's shoulder.

Mathias chuckled. "Worried?"

"No, _never,_ " Flynn insisted. He held Mathias tighter. "Why would you think I was worried?"

"I never left the city. I had important business to deal with, and it got late faster than I expected."

Flynn tilted Mathias's chin up and kissed him. "Did you eat anything?"

Mathias nodded. "Yes. You don't need to feed me." His fingers tangled in Flynn's loose hair.

"You sure you don't want a little slurp of aromatic fish oil?" Flynn asked, trying and failing to suppress a grin as Mathias winced. 

"I'll pass." Mathias's voice was flat, and he grimaced. "Please, not just before I go to bed."

Flynn couldn't resist poking a little more, now that he'd been reassured Mathias was all right. "With your coffee in the morning? And a little Kul Tiramisu?"

Mathias poked his waist and shook his head, smiling. "Scoundrel."

"Come to bed, love. Fish oil or not, you still need some sleep. So do I. The sofa's just not that comfy without you on it, too."

His husband eyed him. "Why were you sleeping on the sofa?"

"Because you weren't in the bed." He took Mathias by the wrist and led him toward the bedroom. 

"Flynn--"

"What can I say? I missed your freezing feet." Flynn smiled. 

"My feet are--"

"Always cold." He shoved Mathias onto the bed and started unbuckling his ridiculous spaulders.

With a sigh, Mathias gave in. He shook his head and looked up at Flynn, a little smile on his own lips as he unfastened the rest of his armor. "Not _always._ "

"Not always," Flynn agreed, kissing him again. "Still, if I'm home, I really kinda prefer having you in bed with me. Doesn't feel quite right without you." He stuck the pauldrons on their stand. "Come on, you. Off with the rest of it. Bedtime." He tugged off Mathias's boots and tossed them in the direction of the armor stand, where they landed with a pair of dull thuds.

"Some nights it's like this, Flynn. You know that." Mathias sounded a little exasperated, but that was a regular state for him.

"Yep. Signed up for it, didn't I? Still don't have to like it. It's like me going to sea. You know I'll be gone a lot, and you still complain." He took Mathias's corset and hung it as Mathias skinned out of his leg armor. "Speaking of, I've got somebody requesting a salvage operation off Northrend, but the weather's still shit this time of year. Probably too hazardous. I'm thinking of either turning it down or asking 'em to wait a month or so for the weather to get a bit better."

Mathias handed him his leg armor and gave him a sharp look. "Northrend? Where in Northrend?"

"Near Moa'ki Harbor," Flynn said, shrugging.

Mathias's head tilted. "Can you put off making a decision on that for about a week?"

Flynn narrowed his eyes. "What's this about?"

"Not something I can talk about. Just, can you wait on it?" He stripped off his under layer and headed for the shower. 

Flynn watched him go, entirely taken by the glory of the man's naked ass. He smiled to himself and sighed. "I suppose, but if you want me out there in winter weather, I need to know why. It's a risk to my ship and my crew."

"I may need to be in Northrend," Mathias said, his voice muffled by the falling water. "I don't know yet. But if you're there, it'll give me a way to get there and a base of operations that won't be obvious."

"I thought you still weren't doing field work, though?" That thought worried him. He turned down the covers of the bed.

Mathias's answer was delayed for a few minutes until he emerged, drying himself with a towel. "It wouldn't, strictly speaking, be fieldwork." He scrubbed at his hair until it was only damp, the copper strands going everywhere. Flynn turned to him and ran his fingers through it, straightening it out. He caressed the greying hair at his husband's temple and kissed him. "I may need a place closer to a current operation where I can keep a better eye on things."

Flynn gave him a skeptical look. "Mmmmm, yeah, that sounds like a recipe for surprise fieldwork to me." Mathias twirled up the damp towel between his hands and snapped Flynn with it. He yelped. "Hey!" 

Mathias laughed, triumphant. "Still faster than you."

Flynn tackled him onto the bed.

***

"We got bad news, Shaw," Renzik said. "You need to come with me."

Mathias bolted from his desk and hurried after his second. "What is it?" They trotted down the stairs and out toward the barracks.

"One of our New Hearthglen people just got back. He's a mess."

They ran across the training field to the barracks building. "What happened?"

"Hearthed in," Renzik said. "We've got a healer with him now. Should be able to get a report soon."

Mathias and Renzik dashed into the barracks hall, where Agent Sandovel sat on a bunk, a healer working on a bloody gash that ran from his shoulder to his elbow. "Sandovel, report." The man was battered but breathing and conscious, if in pain. That much was good, at least.

"We were made, sir," he said, wincing as the healer moved his arm, weaving light through his injury. "Lord Romano was there, as was Jeran Astoris."

"Romano? Damn," Mathias spat. "At least we know where he is now. Marganes and Bellan?"

"Dead, sir. I barely made it out to a place where I could hearth back here." He flinched as the light around him brightened, then sighed and relaxed as his wounds started to close.

Mathias looked at Renzik. "I'll have to notify their families." He hated that part, but it was always a risk when he sent someone out into the field. His attention returned to his agent. "Was he there when you arrived?"

Sandovel shook his head. "No, he and the Mage got there yesterday. New people seem to arrive every so often, one or two at a time."

His people had been on site for nearly two weeks. "Did you see two new Paladins there? They'd have arrived last week, one on Thursday, the other on Sunday."

Sandovel nodded. "Yeah. The usual beef in plate, looked like."

"They're ours. No sign of suspicion regarding them?"

"None that I saw, sir. They came and blended in with the lot of them. Romano made a splash though. Looked like they were expecting him."

That their Paladin plants had got in without incident was good news. "Any progress on identifying their Pretender to the throne?"

"No. I did spot someone who could have been Bloodspear, though. It was impossible to get close. The security on her is tight. We saw at least a half dozen identifiable Syndicate members, as well."

Renzik asked, "How did you get caught?"

"Romano," Sandovel said. "He's even more paranoid than they are. We were careful. He spent the first day he was there searching everything. I'm not sure if he knew that we'd have people inside, or only suspected. Ultimately, it didn't matter. We managed to avoid him the first day, but he found Marganes the next morning. After that he and the Syndicate people did a sweep before we could exit. Bellan and I almost made it out but they spotted us, and he… he made sure I got away. Gave me time to get the report back to you." 

Mathias and Renzik nodded. "You did well," Mathias said. "Bellan's sacrifice will not be forgotten."

"We'll need maps of the site as best you can remember," Renzik said. "Security levels in different zones, the usual."

Sandovel nodded, flinching as the healer probed at another injury. "Of course. As soon as I can pick up a pencil."

They spoke for several more minutes, gathering further intelligence, but Sandovel's full report would have to wait, probably until the next day. Unfortunately, the condolence letters to family were not something he could give to someone else; it was his responsibility as the head of SI:7, when they were able to acknowledge the individual's work at all. He and Renzik headed back to the office.

"You'd better not be thinking about going there yourself," Renzik said.

He eyed Renzik. "And why would you think I'd be considering that?' He wasn't about to admit that he'd been doing so for a week or more.

Renzik glared at him. "Because I know you. Something like this goes south, you want to get more info, and you don't trust anyone's eyes but your own."

He couldn't very well deny that. "It would be useful. Flynn is looking at a salvage contract near Moa'ki Harbor. It would be a base of operations near enough to New Hearthglen without actually being there--"

"Don't," Renzik snapped. "If I have to scrape you off the walls of New Hearthglen and give your job to Nightwind, I will _not_ be happy. Just sayin'."

"We need to get someone else into the city." They climbed the stairs and entered Mathias's office.

Renzik dropped into a chair and crossed his arms, irritated. "We got two Paladins in there now. They have channels to report to Wyrmbane."

Mathias nodded as he sat. "And if we have to react to something quickly, we still need SI:7 on the ground, not just a couple of Wyrmbane's borrowed people."

"You know as well as I do, we got people all over Northrend already, looking for that banshee bitch." 

"But, at this point," Mathias said, "no one dedicated to a problem that spawned an assassination attempt on the High King. That can't be allowed to continue. We have to deal with this decisively." He leaned on his desk, wishing he had a cup of coffee.

Renzik nodded. "You got a point there, but not a strong enough one for those boots on the ground to be you. And also? Romano's there. Tell me you don't think he'd love to get his hands on you and Fairwind."

"He would. I have no doubt of that, and it's a legitimate concern." Mathias sighed. "I trust you can understand how frustrating this is for me."

The goblin didn't relent. "Better frustrated than dead, Shaw."

Mathias sighed and nodded. "Understood. We'll send a couple more people out to do further exploration, liaise with the Paladins, and give us enough information to come up with a plan. I can go to Northrend with the _Bold Arva_ and at least one more -- possibly Rell, if that'll satisfy you as to both my safety and your need to have me babysat -- and coordinate efforts. Will that work?" 

"Well," Renzik said, grudging, "it ain't my ideal, but it'll do. Nightwind should be able to sit on your urge to go inside yourself." He jabbed a finger at Mathias. "Do _not_ make me regret this. If we end up losing both of you, SI:7 is gonna be screwed. Remember that. We'd figure something out eventually, but both you and him gone? It would take time and the reorganization shuffle wouldn't be pretty."

"I'll keep all that in mind." Like it or not, Renzik had a point.


	2. The Shores of Dragonblight

Mathias assigned two new agents to New Hearthglen, to leave that afternoon, then made his way down to the _Bold Arva._ Flynn was in his cabin, conferring with Sparks, the First Mate, when he arrived.

His husband looked up from their discussion. "Mathias? What brings you here in the middle of the afternoon? Not that I'm not delighted to see you, of course, but a booty call right n--"

Mathias sighed. "Not here for that." Sparks snickered. He looked at her. "I need to speak with him privately." The gnome waggled her eyebrows. " _Not_ for that! By the Light, what I put up with for you people," he grumbled.

"But you love us," she said, grinning. She turned her attention back to Flynn. "We'll pick this up when you two are done." 

"Right!" Flynn gestured her out and got up to give Mathias a hug. "So, if it's not my terribly tempting booty, what _does_ bring you?" Mathias kissed him and extricated himself from Flynn's embrace. He sat at the table and picked up Flynn's coffee mug, drinking down half of it. There was whiskey in it. Of course. "Hey! Get your own!"

Mathias gave him an evil grin. "I thought we shared pretty much everything these days?"

"Yeah, but _not_ my coffee!" Flynn pouted at him, arms crossed over his chest.

He put the mug down. "Is that salvage contract off the coast of Dragonblight still on the table?"

Flynn came and sat at the table with him. "I think the client's nearly given up and is looking for another ship, but yeah, we can still take it if you need me to. I've been holding off on it like you asked."

Mathias nodded. "Take it, then. We lost two people on an operation up there today. The third managed to make it back to report, but I'm going to need to reinsert some agents, and I really should be closer to the site. Rell will be coming with us."

"Shiv doesn't trust you alone?" Flynn quirked a suspicious half-smile at him, and Mathias sighed, his shoulders sagging.

"Got it in one." He shrugged. "With any luck, we won't have to go in, but if we have a command center close to the action, we can react more quickly in case something does need to happen."

"All right," Flynn said. "Just so you know, I'm with Shiv on this one. I'll help Rell sit on you if you even think about going into wherever it is without a damned good reason."

"Duly noted. When can we be at Moa'ki Harbor?" At least Flynn recognized that a reason might actually exist.

"If I talk to the client today? About ten days, maybe a little longer. Depends on the weather which, I will remind you, is still shit this time of year. The currents should be in our favor, at least. If you need to be there faster, I could meet you at Moa'ki."

Mathias shook his head. "Rell and I can't be seen arriving."

"Got it. Sneaking in by sea. Do you need to be _at_ Moa'ki, or off the coast of Dragonblight near there?"

"Off the coast is better, actually, until we need a place to meet with my agents."

Flynn nodded. "Okay. In that case, I need to go send a message to the client, get the contract signed, and recall the crew. We won't be able to leave until at least tomorrow evening, with the tide."

"That works," Mathias said. "It'll give me time to organize what I need to, and wrap things up here before we go. I'll see you at home tonight."

Flynn raised an eyebrow. "You _sure_ you're not here for my booty? I'm told it's an absolute treasure..." He grinned.

"Flynn!" Mathias couldn't help laughing.

***

They set sail the next day with Mathias and Rell aboard. Flynn was happy to have his husband sailing with them again, though he knew the man still wasn't the most eager of mariners. Mathias had learned enough in their previous voyages to run the rigging with the crew. Rell lent a hand with some of it as well, but had apparently never been much inclined. He didn't get seasick, but being at sea sat even less well with him than it had with Mathias before he'd got his sea legs.

Once they were well out of Stormwind, Mathias and Rell asked Flynn for a private conversation in his cabin. The night was rough and stormy, but the _Arva_ was steady, and the crew was on top of everything. "You're going to tell me what this is about, now, I hope?" he asked, as they all settled at his table.

Mathias, sitting next to him, nodded. "As much as we're able. There are still some things you're not cleared to know, but at least one fact in this whole mess is directly relevant to you. Romano's back."

"Oh, Tides," Flynn growled. "You found him? What's Lord Stick Up His Ass up to now? Is he what we're going to deal with?"

"Only in part. He was portaled off Draenor by Jeran Astoris, the youngest daughter of Lord Astoris, and they were both sighted in New Hearthglen. He was the person who discovered our agents." Mathias rested his arms on the table. "We don't know for certain what his intentions are right now, but New Hearthglen is a stronghold of the Scarlet Brotherhood. It was one of the centers of the Scarlet Crusade and the Scarlet Onslaught when the Scourge arose and the battle was taken to Northrend."

Flynn nodded, concerned. "So we can assume that you and I are at least somewhere on his list of things to do and people to kill."

Rell nodded. "That's our assumption, yes. Security was increased on both your flat and your ship while it is in port when we realised he'd gone missing from his post in exile."

Flynn's eyes narrowed. "That I knew. But does this mean I don't have to pull my punches next time I see the scurvy bastard?" He was still furious over having to let the son of a sea skrog live after he'd been ambushed while Mathias was in the Healer's Hall.

He saw anger spark in Mathias's eyes. "Feel free to do whatever's necessary, should we run into him. It's highly unlikely at this juncture, though."

"So you'd stab him in the kidneys too, eh? Good to know." Flynn gave him a fierce grin.

Mathias didn't return the smile. "He tried to kill you. I'd gut him if he gave me the slightest excuse."

Flynn laid a hand on Mathias's wrist. "What else do I need to know about all of this? I assume there's more. And what can I tell the crew?"

Mathias and Rell exchanged a look. "Most of the operation is currently very highly classified," Rell said. "The fact that we need to be near New Hearthglen should be enough to extrapolate from." Mathias nodded.

"You sent people in there before we left. You lost two people there last week. You need to be nearby in case you learn something ridiculously important, and one or both of you might have to go in. Am I right?" 

Mathias sighed, his eyes on the table. "It is a possibility. Not one we're hoping for."

"Shiv didn't want you going in. That's why he sent Rell." Flynn glowered at both of them. 

"I'm not fucking _helpless,_ " Mathias snapped.

Flynn's fingers tightened on Mathias's wrist. "No, you're not," he said, soft and careful. "You're _valuable._ The entire bloody Alliance needs you. I mean, so do I, but I'm kinda meaningless in a game as big as what this seems to be. And _that's_ why Rell and I will be keeping you from doing anything that's anywhere near as boneheaded as something I'd do."

"What makes you think we'd go in at all?" Mathias said, his jaw tight.

Flynn sighed and shook his head. "You're _both_ here to supervise the operation. This is the first time I know of that you've left Stormwind since you got out of the Healer's Hall. You'd not be here if it wasn't Alliance-level bad. Maybe you'd have just sent Rell, or you'd have trusted your lot to deal with whatever it is and stayed in Stormwind, but you're _here._ So you're afraid you might have to go in for something. The kind of thing that only you might have the skills for."

Mathias and Rell exchanged glances again. "He has a point," Rell said.

Flynn's hand shifted and he twined his fingers with Mathias's. "I just want you to know that if you do end up going into this New Hearthglen place for whatever the fuck it is, I'm going with you." Mathias's green eyes snapped to his and he opened his mouth to speak, but Flynn held up his other hand and kept right on going. "Somebody has to watch your back and -- sorry, Rell," he tossed a glance at the elf before his attention returned to his husband, "--right now I don't trust anybody with your life but me. I will take a fucking bullet for you, but if you go in there? You _are_ coming out. I'll see to that."

Mathias finally found words, though the distress on his face was plain. "Flynn--"

" _Nothing_ is going to happen to you on my watch," Flynn said, grim and determined. "And where you're concerned, it's _always_ my watch."

Mathias's fingers tightened in their twining with his own. "I never want you taking a bullet, or anything else, for me."

"I'm not exactly keen on it myself, frankly." Flynn's thumb brushed over the ring on Mathias's finger. "But the way to avoid me standing between you and somebody trying to kill you is, unsurprisingly, to _not_ be where somebody's trying to kill you. Like, for instance, New Hearthglen."

"Sometimes I don't have a choice," Mathias said. "I assure you, I have no current plans to enter New Hearthglen." Flynn knew the man was hedging; he couldn't promise he wouldn't need to go in himself and that left Flynn cold. Mathias looked at Rell, pleading. "Tell him."

Rell crossed his arms over his chest. "We don't plan to go in, unless something changes drastically. But we do need to be here in case things shift." He and Mathias exchanged a look. "Given his insistence, you should tell him about what brought us here."

"He's not cleared." Mathias shifted in his chair, his hand tightening on Flynn's again.

Rell's brow knitted. "You're the one who makes the final decision about that. You, Renzik, and I are the committee. He and I spoke before we left; if it became necessary to tell him, we both approved. In my opinion, it's time to do so."

"What's got you so bloody bothered, love?" Flynn reached out to turn Mathias's face to him.

Mathias got up and started pacing the cabin, despite the rocking of the ship in the rough seas, hands joined behind his back. "While you were last at sea, SI:7 uncovered and foiled an assassination attempt on Anduin."

Flynn bolted to his feet. "What?"

"It was dealt with before the assassins got anywhere near the city of Stormwind." Mathias looked at him. "And no, I was not personally involved in that operation, so take a deep breath. But there's more to this than that."

"Obviously. We're _here_." Flynn settled himself back into his chair, profoundly uneasy with where this was going.

"The assassins appeared to be allied with the Syndicate; a contact in Ravenholdt gave us the information." Flynn nodded as he listened. "Needless to say, an alliance between the Scarlet Brotherhood and the Syndicate is problematic."

Flynn nodded. "As I recall, neither of them is all that fond of Stormwind or House Wrynn."

"Exactly. What's worse, there's a rumor that one of the Scarlet Crusade's Chief Assassins has reappeared. She'd been missing and presumed dead since the second war."

"That… doesn't sound good." Flynn shivered. Whoever she was, she'd be at least Cyrus's age, but that didn't mean she'd be any less dangerous for her years.

"It isn't," Mathias said, still pacing. "If Yana Bloodspear is the force behind the rise of the Scarlet Brotherhood, there's no telling how much damage she could do. If she's survived, she'll be canny. She could have been cultivating portions of this plan for decades."

Flynn sighed. This was getting deep. He didn't like this kind of deep. The more he heard, the worse it sounded. "What about the whole Menethil heir thing? Is that wrapped into this too? I remember the pamphlets talking about one."

"We have a couple of Paladins inside looking for evidence of both Bloodspear and a potential Pretender to the Menethil titles. When our agent reported before we set out on this voyage, he said they had sighted someone who might have been her, but that she was very tightly guarded. Our new people inside are continuing that investigation and liaising with Wyrmbane's Paladins when they're able. We need to get to the bottom of this, and stop it before it grows any further."

"Stop the infection, like Cyrus says." Flynn had a distinct suspicion that this was going to involve dead bodies before it was over, hopefully none of them anyone he cared about. He rose and went to a cabinet, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and some glasses. "All right, boys. I need a drink to face this. You?"

Mathias paused in his pacing and nodded. "I think I could use one, thanks."

Rell nodded. "Thank you." He took the glass Flynn handed him and Flynn poured for him, then for Mathias and himself. They both sat at the table with Rell. Mathias slid his chair close to Flynn and leaned into him; Flynn tucked an arm around his husband's waist.

"I don't know how you lot manage to deal with all of this, and everything else that hits your desk on a daily basis," he said. "I can barely manage to keep up with the odd jobs I do for Jaina and Cyrus, and I'm not the one organizing any of it."

Mathias drank some of his whiskey. "You get used to it. This is what I was raised to do. Pathonia intended for me to have this responsibility." He relaxed against Flynn's chest and Flynn drew him closer, wishing he could take some of the burdens Mathias carried off the man's shoulders the way he let his husband lean on him physically. "Trust me, delegation happens."

"Just not with things like this," Flynn said.

"No." Mathias shook his head. "Not with things like this."

*** 

The days passed with stormy seas and good company in the galley or Flynn's cabin. The storms were nothing like the conjured ones they'd faced off the coast of Zandalar, but they were still sufficient to sometimes make Mathias a little queasy. He spent time in the rigging and working with the crew as he had on previous voyages with them, doing better than he'd expected despite the weather-induced ache in his leg. It felt good to be active again.

They'd be spending their time with Flynn's salvage contract, his agents instructed to keep contact with him via gnomish underwater mail shark, as they had on the Zandalari mission. His cover would be sufficiently easy to keep, if they remained off the coast and only landed if it were absolutely necessary. Still, Mathias couldn't help growing more uneasy, the closer they got to their goal.

While the _Arva's_ crew was willing, everyone knew that salvage in these seas, at this time of year, was more dangerous work than usual. They all seemed ready to take up the task, but he worried that he'd put them on a perilous course they'd not ordinarily have taken; Flynn had initially been reluctant to take the contract at all. Sparks took extra time with the mechanisms, and Grixx and Relly checked and rechecked the helmets and air lines, making certain that all the components were in top shape and working perfectly.

The rocking of the ship didn't calm Mathias at night as it did his husband. While, in and of itself, it wasn't the cause of nightmares, the additional uneasiness of it seemed to contribute to their intensity more than usual for some reason. Maybe it was the Scarlets and their plotting. Maybe he was just getting more sensitive to the loss of his operatives. He couldn't tell. Flynn's warm, solid presence in the night helped, but didn't banish them entirely. When he woke, gasping, his heart racing, in a cold sweat, Flynn's arm slid around him and tugged him close. "What's wrong, love?" Flynn murmured, his voice rough with sleep. "You've hardly been able to sleep at all since we left Stormwind."

Flynn's fingers ran through Mathias's damp hair, brushing it away from his eyes. The gesture was a soft caress, followed by the gentle trace of the backs of Flynn's fingers, from his temple to his cheek. Mathias let himself lean his face against the touch, eyes closed, and he sighed. He opened his mouth to deny the importance of it, but Flynn said, "It's not nothing."

"You know me too well," Mathias whispered, looking over at him in the dim moonlight coming through the porthole.

Flynn shook his head. "Never well enough." He kissed Mathias, a sweet touch of lips on lips. "Please tell me. Even if I can't help, you know sometimes just talking eases things for you."

It was true. Sometimes, in the dark like this, talking did seem to moderate some of the pain of it all. It seemed talking was easier in the dark, something of himself still hidden when he exposed the pain that still lay at the core of him. He wrapped himself around Flynn and sighed. "You're right." He struggled to collect himself for a moment, the echoes of the nightmare still vibrating in him. "When I was… in Suramar," he started, still hesitant, "the dreadlord would come, wearing my face. It was like looking into a mirror." Flynn nodded, his cheek brushing Mathias's temple, just listening and letting him set his own pace. "He would tell me, every time, about what he'd been doing, using my face and my name. Who he'd killed. What he'd done to advance his plans to foment war between the Alliance and the Horde." He took a shaky breath. "He said that, when he'd finished and all the cities of Azeroth were in flames and everyone believed that I was the one who'd done it, he'd send me back. He'd deliver me to the people who believed I'd betrayed them, with none of them the wiser."

Flynn's arms tightened around him and Mathias lay there with his eyes closed, listening to Flynn's heart beating, quick and anxious. "That sounds awful."

"It was. But the worst thing…" He couldn't help the way his voice shook. "The worst thing was that in all that time, out of all those people, not a single one of them ever imagined it wasn't me. Not one of them knew me well enough to think that some of the things Detheroc did were things I… wouldn't do. Even after I returned, only a few people said that the behavior had seemed odd. No one so much as suspected I was gone until the Uncrowned found Amber's body. And how were they supposed to know? I was meant to spend my life as a shadow, unknown to anyone." He'd succeeded so well that someone could impersonate him and accomplish all that evil in his name.

Flynn's hand moved gently up and down Mathias's back, warm and soothing. "I'd have known," he murmured.

"Perhaps." Mathias thought that Flynn might well have recognized something was wrong. Might have asked about it. Might have died for having that knowledge. "But if we'd been together then, if you'd figured it out, he'd have killed you, or had you killed." That thought left him cold, nausea roiling in the pit of his stomach. "He'd have killed anyone who suspected. That… doesn't bear considering." The idea was worse than no one having known at all. People who had trusted him died. "The fact that I was trusted, that I was given the power I have, led to all those deaths."

"He did terrible things to you, love. I know it still hurts. It's over now." Flynn buried his nose in Mathias's hair and nuzzled, his arms holding tight in the darkness, and Mathias's senses were overwhelmed with the scent of him. The familiarity of salt and soap seeped into his being. "You're not there anymore; you survived. You're safe here. The people on this ship know you and love you. What Detheroc had planned for you never happened. You were found and rescued, and you kicked the Legion's ass right off the planet." Flynn pressed kisses to his head. "And then we found each other, and here you are, wrapped in the arms of your devastatingly handsome and devilishly dashing husband." He could hear the smile in Flynn's voice and it eased some of the heaviness in his chest.

Mathias sighed, feeling slightly lighter but still off. "I'm sorry, I--"

"No," Flynn said. "Don't apologize. This happens to both of us sometimes. Tonight was your turn. Do you think some coffee would help, or would you rather try to go back to sleep?"

Mathias thought for a moment, exhausted. He opened one eye and looked out the porthole again. It was still dark, with no sign of impending dawn. "Sleep, I think."

"Mmm. Okay. Sleep, then, love. I'm right here"

And that was possibly the most comforting thing of all.

***

The salvage dives took two days, and the worst of the weather held off through the entire operation, much to everyone's relief. "It's nice having a Druid in the crew to help," Sparks said; Luvias had dealt with a couple of potential problems with the air lines without needing to be attached to a line herself. Her various shapeshifting forms meant that she could move quickly and without restriction when it was necessary. 

Mathias got regular updates from his people with minor progress reported each time. "The Paladins are certain that the woman our first report identified is, in fact, Yana Bloodspear," he told Rell, over dinner in Flynn's cabin.

"Not good news."

"Any progress on the kid that's supposed to be Menethil?" Flynn asked.

Mathias shook his head. "Not yet, but there are apparently several people being held in cells below the military barracks, and there seems to be someone who's being kept in what appears to be Bloodspear's private residence. It's a newer building between the cathedral and the wall that separates them from the Hall of Arms and library wing. They observed servants entering the residence with meals while she was away, but no one else entering or leaving. Who's in there eating? The location is closely guarded and difficult to access."

Rell leaned forward and gestured with his spoon. "That sounds like a fruitful avenue to explore."

"Agreed. But getting anyone close enough has been an issue," Mathias responded. "I'm still waiting on a report from inside those quarters. The woman is in the residence most of the time, but appears to leave at least once a day for an hour or so. They should be able to get in to see if there are any private records or documents."

"That would be ideal." Rell stirred idly at his stew. "Whatever else could be said about the Scarlets, they're orderly and they keep records. We could most likely find what we need if our people get in."

"That's my hope," Mathias said, with a nod. He focused on his dinner. Yun had made a hearty beef stew that night and he found it settling after a cold day helping to deal with the dive equipment on the deck. It had been windy but, thankfully, not storming. The seas had been choppy but not too rough.

"Now that the last of the dives are done," Flynn said, "We can wait anywhere in these waters that you like, so long as we're out of sight of this New Hearthglen place. I told our client I wasn't sure how long it would be until we returned to Stormwind, so we're good for a little while yet. Too long, though, and he'll probably send someone out looking to salvage _us_."

Mathias thought for a moment. "Two more weeks, at the most, I think. It depends on whether or not my people can get into our alleged Bloodspear's office, and what they find there."

Rell sipped at his tea and said, "We should remain out of sight of the shoreline entirely. The Scarlets will no doubt have people watching in case of any arrivals. If nothing else, Romano will be suspicious. I'm just relieved he hasn't found our embedded people yet."

Mathias nodded. "If he hears any report of our vessel offshore, he and the Syndicate people will intensify their efforts to find infiltrators."

"That really wouldn't be a good thing. There's a sheltered spot close in to the shore just off the Emerald Dragonshire, though, if I remember right." Flynn looked up at a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

Billie opened the door and looked in. "Mister Finebrew wanted to know if you were done with your dishes, Captain?"

"Almost, Monkey. Give us another ten minutes or so to finish up, would you?"

Her head bobbed. "Aye aye, Captain. I'll be back." She ducked out and closed the door again.

"Well," Flynn said, "you just let me know when you want us to move and where, and I'll make it happen."


	3. A Change of Plans

They'd relocated on Flynn's advice to just off the coast of Emerald Dragonshire. The location was completely obscured from the view of New Hearthglen, and close enough to land for the crew to take a little shore leave in shifts, if the Keeper in residence allowed it. There were no settlements there, and no one but the dragons. "I need to go ashore and speak with the Garden Keeper to make sure we'll be permitted to enter," Mathias said, as the crew worked on the deck. He was dressed in warm clothes and a greatcoat and scarf rather than his uniform. He didn't see a need for the armor while they were at sea and there were no threats on the horizon.

"I can fly you in," Luvias offered. "It would be faster than taking the dinghy."

He nodded. "I'd appreciate that." He hadn't spoken to the Druid much, but he knew that she and Rell were acquainted and that she'd been recommended to Flynn by him. She would be trustworthy and, while she'd not had a lot to say to Mathias, she'd treated him with respect. Luvias seemed the quiet type. He knew she'd been a part of the war effort in Kul Tiras, along with so many other champions but, with her seemingly quiet nature, she hadn't stood out in his memory.

"You two be careful," Flynn said. "The only dealings I've had with dragons is when they've been trying to burn the _Middenwake_ to the waterline."

"The green flight are typically peaceful, unless they've been corrupted or they're being attacked," Luvias said. "The Dreaming belongs to them. So long as we approach the Garden Keeper appropriately, we should at least be tolerated."

Flynn looked at her. "Can you carry two?"

She eyed him. "Two gnomes? For a fair distance and at speed. You and Master Shaw?" She looked out toward the forest just beyond. Luvias gestured. "I can get us there, though two is more effort than one. I'm not a gryphon, Captain. I don't believe it's strictly necessary for both of you to go." 

"He's not going ashore without me," Flynn insisted.

Rell said, "I could go, instead; both of them could stay here."

Luvias narrowed her dark, uncanny eyes. "Now I'm beginning to suspect that everyone simply wants a chance to stand on solid ground."

Mathias and Rell looked at each other, then at Flynn. Rell shrugged. "She has a point."

The Druid sighed, arms crossed over her chest. "I'm willing to carry you both, Captain, provided I'm on the first shore leave shift." She raised one long eyebrow at Flynn. "I could do with some time among the trees."

Flynn nodded, smiling and looking relieved. "Done, and thanks."

She glowered. "And, if you please, no rude comments about 'riding the Druid.'"

Flynn gave her a vaguely offended look and put one hand over his heart. "Would I do _that?_ "

"Frankly, yes," she said, though her voice was far less severe than her expression.

"Okay, you got me there," he answered. "No comments. But really, you don't think Mathias would--"

"No. I don't."

"Never in public, at least," Mathias said, chuckling.

Flynn grinned at him. "Cheeky!" 

Luvias rolled her eyes. "You're very entertaining, gentlemen. Did you want to go now, while we still have the light?"

"If you would," Mathias said, nodding. He tugged his coat more closely around him against the weather as the Druid shifted to her lunarwing form. She crouched slightly to let him and Flynn mount, with Mathias in front and Flynn's arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

"Hold on," Luvias said. Mathias grasped the feathers between her wings, his legs tight around her body, and Flynn held on to him as she lifted swiftly from the _Arva's_ deck. It was strange not to have reins in his hands and a saddle beneath him while being borne aloft.

"Well, this is different," Flynn said, his chin resting on Mathias's shoulder. He was warm and solid against Mathias's back; it felt reassuring to be held like that. The Druid's flight was steady and strong, and he didn't have any concern about falling despite the lack of a saddle or reins. "You sure you've got a good grip?"

"I think so," Mathias told him.

"I won't drop you," Luvias assured them. "So long as you're not attempting to dance while on my back, we'll be fine."

The trip into the forest from the ship took about fifteen minutes. It was significantly warmer there than at sea, and the air was humid. Luvias landed near one of the massive dragon skulls that were scattered around the entire area. "Do you think this Keeper of yours has a house around somewhere?" Flynn asked.

Mathias shook his head. "From what I understand, dragons don't actually need that sort of thing."

"I don't have any idea where she might be, but I can leave you here and look for her," Luvias said. "I can't say as I understand dragons very well, even having spent some time around the green flight in the Emerald Dream."

"I don't think anyone does," Mathias said, looking around them. He entered the huge, empty skull and examined the area. The warm, humid air had him unwrapping his scarf and unbuttoning the greatcoat Flynn had given him. "It would probably be a good idea to go looking for her, though."

Flynn pointed. "There's someone coming up the path."

'Someone' turned out to be a tall, pale kaldorei with a long braid of dark green hair. She approached them casually.

"Ishnu-alah," Luvias said. "We're looking for the Garden Keeper."

The elf's head tilted. "You have found her. I am Nishera. Why have you come to the Emerald Dragonshire?"

Mathias stepped forward. "We've been at sea for quite a while and would like to allow the crew some time ashore in this warm, green place, with your permission." Flynn stayed close by his shoulder, curious but uneasy.

Nishera eyed him, solemn. She turned to Luvias. "You will see to it that none of them harm what grows and thrives here?"

"You have my word, Garden Keeper. Any fire shall be made in a safe place, with only wood that has fallen or washed ashore from the sea." She looked around. "Are there places where we should not intrude?"

"No," Nishera said. "So long as you are respectful, you and your people are welcome here." She turned her attention back to Mathias. "I am grateful that you asked permission, and that you came with a Druid to make your request. Your caution speaks well of you."

Mathias gave the dragon a slight bow. "We appreciate your generosity." He hesitated for a moment. "There is the possibility that one or two others might enter the area from the path inland to consult with me at some point."

She nodded. "Again, so long as nothing here is harmed, they may enter."

Flynn looked at him. "What do you mean your people might need to meet you here?"

Mathias shrugged. "Sometimes face to face is necessary; it's faster and easier than a written summary."

Flynn glowered. "Just so you know, I'm objecting before anything gets out of hand."

"Duly noted."

"We should go let the crew know about this, then," Flynn said, sighing.

The flight back was just as swift as the flight in, and the crew was thrilled at the idea of getting a little time ashore. Luvias explained the Garden Keeper's rules to everyone, and the potential consequences of angering even a relatively friendly dragon, so that things would go smoothly. Flynn let her, Rell, and several of the others have the first few hours ashore, then took Mathias's hand.

"A little private time?" Flynn gave his hand a squeeze.

"Private time as in curling up together, or private time as in sex?" Mathias raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I know how you get when you're concerned about people overhearing, so just a snuggle."

Mathias smiled. "And what if I wanted a bit more than a snuggle?" His smile sharpened into a wicked grin.

Flynn brightened, his smile lighting up his face. "Oh, _Mathias,_ you cheeky bugger!" He led them off toward their cabin.

***

Two days later, a report arrived via mail shark that left Mathias unsettled. "I need to speak to our agents for a full rundown on this," he said, handing the document to Rell. "They managed to get into the office on the top floor of the military barracks, and into the private residence."

Rell read the report. "A young man, of about the age of a potential Menethil heir--" he looked up and met Mathias's eyes. "The person they've been feeding but not letting out." 

Mathias nodded. "If the kid thinks he's going to be installed as a king, why is he being held like that?"

"A good question."

"And a safe in the barracks and one desk drawer in the residence that neither of them could access." Mathias sighed. He looked at the photo of the safe. "Look," he said, running his finger over the glyphs beside the lock. "This is magical, which means something extremely important is in there. I'm sure I can get into it, but they just don't have the skills."

"What about this?" Rell said. "Six prisoners in the cells below, none of whom seem to be affiliated with the Scarlets. Very closely guarded. One seems to be a Mage, as she's wearing magic-dampening manacles."

"Who are they, and why are they being held?" Mathias asked.

"More good questions," Rell said. "I agree, we'll need to meet with our agents to discuss this further. We should have one of them meet us in the Emerald Dragonshire as soon as possible."

"I'll arrange a meeting there at dawn tomorrow." He wrote his instructions and enclosed them in the shark. Not long after, he lowered it back into the water to return to his agents and went on with his day.

Flynn, as he expected, refused to let Mathias go ashore without him. "Pretend I'm your bodyguard, love," he said. Though the words were fond, the steel in his voice wasn't to be argued with.

"There's no risk. We're just going into the Emerald Dragonshire."

Flynn stood by the door, arms crossed over his chest, leaning on the bulkhead. "If there's no risk, why are you in armor?"

It was a valid point. "Because this is official business but, all right, you can come. Let's get the dinghy in the water."

Flynn headed for the deck. "And that's the other reason you need me. You and Rell, alone on a dinghy? I don't think so." He huffed. "I need that back in one piece. And also you."

"I'm surprised you wouldn't be willing to let Rell watch my back."

"So I'm paranoid," Flynn said. "The only person watching your gorgeous ass should be me."

Mathias elbowed him. "Flynn!"

They met Rell on the deck, where he was talking to the duty crew. Bess, Sparks and Johnny were huddled on the quarterdeck together in the cold, late winter air.

"You lot be careful," Bess said.

"We're just going in to talk to some people," Mathias reassured her. "It's not dangerous."

Johnny shook his head. "We can never tell, with you." He patted Mathias's back, then he and Flynn lowered the dinghy down to the water. Mathias, Rell, and Flynn climbed down the rope ladder into the little boat and Flynn took up the oars.

Mathias joined him on the bench and took one from him. "Move over. You don't have to do this alone."

Flynn looked him over for a moment, then nodded. "You start to get achy, you just give me back the other oar, right?"

"I will."

Getting to shore was a longer proposition in a boat than on Druid-back. Where the flight into the center of the area was about fifteen minutes, it was over twenty just to get to the shore, and they had to watch for rocks, dragon bones, and other hazards in the shallows, which was made exponentially more difficult by the pre-dawn darkness. Eventually, as the sky began to lighten, Flynn hopped out of the boat and dragged it up onto the sand. "You all right?" he asked.

Mathias nodded. "I'm fine." His chest was sore, but it wasn't too bad. The activity felt good after being confined on the _Arva_ for so long. Yes, he'd helped with the rigging, but this was much closer to the physical intensity and repetition of his technique drills and his work with a practice dummy.

They waited and watched the path down to the shore and, about fifteen minutes later, Mathias saw his agent approaching. They kept silent for a few moments until he determined that Addams hadn't been followed. "Over here," he said. Addams's head turned and he hurried in their direction.

"What do you have for us?" Mathias asked.

"Jorgensen said that the prisoners appear to be hostages." He produced a document. "Copy of the duty roster for the next week. He's on rotation in the prison now. They're not supposed to talk to the prisoners, but he's definitely under the impression they're being held as surety for something."

Mathias took the scroll. "Details?"

"Three civilians, two Warriors, and a magic user of some sort. We think she's a Mage. She's definitely got arcane locks on her wrists."

"What's the situation with the safe?"

Addams shook his head. "Carroll and I have tried to get into it. The magic on it is defeating both of us. Same with the drawer in Bloodspear's desk. We're pretty certain it's her, now. She's the right age, got the right attitude. Bears a resemblance to the statue in the Scarlet Monastery. She and her quarters are the most heavily guarded things in the place."

"Light take it," Mathias muttered. "I'm going to have to go in and deal with this myself."

Flynn glared at him. "You said there'd be no field work."

"I said I couldn't promise that," Mathias snapped. He could never promise that, much as he understood why Flynn was upset. Mathias wasn't particularly thrilled with the idea himself.

"Then, like I said, if you go in, I'm going with you," Flynn growled.

Mathias locked eyes with him. "We'll discuss this later. We're not done with Addams's report yet." Flynn opened his mouth to respond and Mathias held up a finger. " _Later,_ " he said. "I mean it." Flynn grumbled but didn't push; Mathias turned his attention back to his agent.

Rell asked, "Any news on Romano?"

Addams turned to him. "He and Astoris are living in one of the buildings in the newer area of the town. We saw one of the Syndicate members of House Falconcrest in that area, as well. There are at least half a dozen Syndicate people in town now."

"How are Wyrmbane's people doing?" Mathias asked.

Addams shifted uneasily. "Devlin seemed to be buying into the extremism a little, until the Scarlets moved on one of the newer recruits that they thought might be an infiltrator. They hanged the woman yesterday, after we'd sent our daily report. That seems to have shaken him pretty badly and he's solidly back with us now. He's worried about being found out. Paladins, Shaw, they're not used to having to lie to people."

Mathias considered what Addams had told him. "I know; it sounds like we're going to have to move soon so we can get them out. I don't want to leave them inside for too much longer. Light only knows how long they'll be able to resist the temptation to throw in with the Scarlets in their campaign against the undead, despite the fanaticism and the danger of the Scarlets turning on their own. Are there reliable times when someone can get into the barracks office with the safe, and into Bloodspear's house?"

"Yes." Addams nodded. "The barracks office and Bloodspear's house are accessible more easily during the service hours at the cathedral. There's a lot of indoctrination going on, and attendance is mandatory for most of the personnel, except those on duty at the time. Personnel include Paladins, Warriors, Raven Priests, some fire Mages, and a variety of other Priests as clergy and healers. With the Syndicate on site, there are Rogues to be concerned with, as well. We took the precaution of mapping the town for you." He pulled a scroll from its carrier and rolled it out on the bench of the dinghy in the growing light. They all leaned over it, having a look at the details. "It's pretty heavily fortified, Shaw."

He looked at Addams. "You manage to get in and out."

"You know as well as I do, the more people involved, the harder it is to avoid notice." Addams looked at Flynn, skeptical.

Flynn glowered back. "If you think I'm letting him go in without me, you've been huffing too hard at the anchor weed, mate."

"He's a capable operative in his own right," Mathias told Addams, "and he got me out of Stormheim alive the last time we went on a field mission together." He didn't much like the idea of Flynn going in with him, but he also knew that he wasn't going to dissuade his husband from coming along. The conflicting feelings were disturbing, but there wasn't much to do about them at this point.

Addams nodded. "We've been getting in and out here, for the most part." He traced a route on the map with one finger, indicating a gap in the wall near the barracks. "There's a small cliff here; you can't really get down to the barracks building unless you go around, and there are patrols, but it's less watched than the main gates."

Rell looked at Mathias. "It's doable."

Mathias turned to Addams again. "How long do these services last in the cathedral? I need to know how much time I have to deal with the locks and whatever information is inside them."

"About two hours," Addams responded. "My only concern would be the amount of material we may need to go over."

"I read fast," Flynn said. "As long as it's not in code, I can go over a lot of it quickly. It'll be me, Rell, and Mathias, anyway. Two of us to look things over and one to keep watch. We should be able to skim things well enough to know what papers are valuable and what we can ignore." He put a hand on Mathias's shoulder. "My question is, how are we going to get copies out, if we need them?"

"Anything in a safe probably isn't checked that often." Mathias leaned into Flynn as they stood together over the map, wanting him near even though he was irritated with him. "Whatever is in the locked desk drawer is more likely to be consulted daily; ledgers, personal papers, diaries, and the like. We can probably take things out of the safe without worrying, so long as we intend to move our people out shortly afterwards."

"When should we expect you?" Addams asked. "I'll need to give the others a heads up in case you need backup."

"I need to consult the prison rota," Mathias said. "We'll want to go in while Jorgensen is on duty so that we have him inside the building at the time."

"Sounds good," Flynn said. "It'll be one less person to worry about if something gets scuppered."

Addams nodded. "Makes sense. I think he's on tonight around dusk for the sunset service. The barracks will be nearly empty and Bloodspear will be away as well."

Mathias looked over the rota scroll. "Yes, I see." He looked up at Addams. "This evening when his shift starts, then."

"Very good, sir," Addams said. "We'll keep an eye out for you."

"Do the best you can to make sure our entry and escape are covered. We'll collect the information and get back to the ship; you can expect further instructions before dawn about what our next moves will be."

"Understood."

"Dismissed, Addams. Keep to the shadows."

"Thanks, sir. Safe travels."

He turned to Flynn. "We are going to have a talk when we get back to the ship," he said, still angry. Flynn gave him an uncertain look but said nothing. They all shoved the dinghy back out into the water and got in. This time, Rell rowed with Flynn, and Mathias stewed for the twenty minutes back, turning the whole situation over in his mind. They'd been planning to catch up on a little sleep after their pre-dawn excursion when they got back, so at least their discussion wasn't going to interfere with Flynn's watch shift.

When they got back to the _Arva,_ they parted company with Rell and went back to their cabin.

As Flynn closed the door, Mathias took off his gloves and started unbuckling his spaulders. "You have got to stop undermining me in front of my agents," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Flynn's voice was incredulous. "I'm not undermining you. I'm just worried about you!"

He hung the spaulders on the armor stand, took off his belt, and tugged at the buckles of his corset. Looking up at Flynn, he snapped, "Stop implying I'm incapable of fieldwork! I have to have the respect of my people; I can't keep that if you persist in treating me like an invalid!"

Flynn flinched. "All right, I suppose that's fair. It's not what I meant, though. I just--"

"And I'm sick of being reminded that I almost died. I _know_ that, believe me. I survived, Flynn, because of _you,_ and I'm more grateful than you can imagine, but I need to stop hearing about it! I need to move on with my life. I'm already having to face the reality that my ten years to retirement plan has likely been shortened to eight years, or maybe five. I understand better than _anyone_ that I'm not as young as I used to be, and I don't need my nose rubbed in it every time I try to do my job!"

Flynn's eyes were on the deck at this point. "Exactly how angry with me are you?" he asked, shifting uneasily. After an uncomfortable pause, he looked back up. "Because a lot of the time, when people are angry with me, it means that knives are about to come out, and I never want you to be as angry as that."

Mathias's anger broke at that and fizzled into irritation. "I'm not that angry," he said. "I'll never be angry enough at you to pull a weapon, Flynn." His husband looked up, slightly less uneasy. "I just want you to stop acting like I need a keeper. I'm willing to let you come along on this mission because you _are_ a competent operative. I trust you, more than I've ever trusted anyone. I know you'll have my back. But you can't talk like that around my agents, because I can't have them doubting me. They need to be confident in my ability to do my job so that they can do theirs. I don't want them doubting me, or worrying about me, when they should be focused on their missions." 

He tugged his corset off and hung it on the armor stand. Flynn came up behind him and slipped his arms around him. "I'm sorry, love."

"I worry, too," Mathias said. "Every time you go to sea, I worry that you won't come home. But I don't tell you not to go. I don't act like you need a keeper. I don't tell you that you shouldn't go without me. We're both competent adults." He sighed and tugged Flynn's arms closer around his waist.

Flynn's arms tightened and he pressed his cheek to Mathias's temple, then nuzzled at his ear. "You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't realize it bothered you so much. I'm not trying to make your people worry like I do. I just… I'm not used to having someone the way I have you. The idea of anything happening to you is…"

"Frightening?" He felt it, too, and it was hard to say aloud. Flynn just nodded. "We'll get through this. We have people inside to help cover us. We have a schedule. We have locations. We have a way in and more than one escape route."

"More than I can say for the last time I was in Freehold," Flynn murmured.

Mathias turned in his arms and took his husband's face in both hands. "I know you're usually the one saying it, but _we've got this._ " Flynn sighed and Mathias kissed him. "You'll see."

"I hope you're right, love. I really hope you're right."


	4. Reconnaissance

Rell helped Flynn row the dinghy back to the Emerald Dragonshire the next evening. Once they came ashore it would be at least an hour's trek on foot from there, through the Dragonwastes and up the cliff to the walls of New Hearthglen. He'd seen the tension between Mathias and Flynn yesterday morning after they'd got Addams's report; Mathias had obviously been irritated about Flynn's overprotectiveness, but they seemed to have resolved the situation by the time he'd seen them again for lunch.

There was no chatter as they rowed. All of them were saving their energy for getting up to the Scarlet enclave. Rell hadn't worked directly with Flynn before, but he'd seen the results of the man's skills more than once. Having him along eased Rell's own concerns about Mathias, and having to watch the man's back deep in enemy territory. If all went well, no one would see them enter or leave. If it didn't...

All three of them were equipped with poisons, smoke bombs, caltrops, and other items in case of emergency. With luck, none of those things would be used.

Flynn beached the dinghy and pulled it above the tideline. "Don't know how long this is going to take," he said. "Don't want her to go drifting off before we get back." He patted the gunwale. "Tides keep you," he muttered to the little boat. "You be here when we're done."

"You don't need to talk to it," Mathias said.

Flynn's lips tilted into half a smile. "Doesn't hurt, though, does it?"

"Let's be off," Rell said. He gestured and Mathias took the lead along the path that would eventually bring them up through the Dragonwastes. 

"These Dragonwastes we'll be going through," Flynn said. "What are they like?"

"Barren," Mathias answered. "Cold. More dragon bones than down here in the warmth. We won't be going directly through the plains there. This path stays below most of it. The nearest part of it is crawling with magnataurs. We want to avoid them, and everything else, for that matter."

"Never seen a magnataur before," Flynn said. He sounded more curious than anything. The man's curiosity and openness to new things was something that never failed to surprise Rell. Mathias disliked surprises and tended to be suspicious of new things. Flynn, on the other hand, was much more likely to embrace them. The contrast between the two men fascinated him. 

When he'd first met Flynn Fairwind, he hadn't been certain how the man fit into Mathias Shaw's life. The longer he observed them together, however, the more he approved. Flynn's openness and good cheer seemed to have cracked something open in Mathias and let the light in. It had been necessary. The general consensus was that the head of SI:7 had been working himself into an early grave before he met the Kul Tiran.

"They're very, very large, and very, very dangerous," Mathias said. "Think centaurs, but with mammoth bodies instead of horses. They tend to be hostile to everyone except the local snobolds."

Flynn blinked for a moment as they continued their trek. "I think I'd like to see one of those, from very far away. Do they play dice, do you think?"

Mathias covered his face with one hand for a moment and sighed. "They'd be far more likely to kill you and eat you for lunch."

Flynn shrugged. "Well, I've been told I'm a tasty morsel, but I doubt that's what the gal had in mind when she said it. Cannibalism's a little too Drustvar for me." Rell couldn't help his chuckle at that.

As they made their way up the trail out of the Emerald Dragonshire, Rell saw the silhouette of a magnataur on the top of the cliff above them. "Flynn." He pointed and Flynn's gaze followed his gesture.

"That… really is big," he said, clearly impressed. "Remind me never to piss one off."

"Just breathing in their vicinity is enough to do that," Mathias said, his eyes scanning the cliff's edge. "We'll be rising into the Dragonwastes soon. Best to go into stealth from here. There'll be some risk of being spotted, otherwise."

They all did, and kept conversation to a minimum as well. There were too many things with sharp ears in the vicinity to risk detection. Rell, like Flynn, was still somewhat concerned for Mathias, but knew better than to voice his worries. The man would not take it well. He was much healthier than he had been, but Rell had seen yesterday how rowing had left him aching, despite his attempt to hide it. His attitude was entirely understandable; Rell had more personal experience with recovering from an injury that should have been fatal than anyone could possibly want, and he knew that such things went far more slowly than even the healers would tell you. There were moments when he wished Mathias would talk with him about it, but he knew it would never happen.

As they rose out of the Dragonwastes toward the cliff where New Hearthglen stood, the snow deepened. Lightfooted, they left no trace of their passing. At the top of the trail they paused, watching the mounted patrols of the Scarlet Brotherhood that moved slowly back and forth. Addams had said the bells of the cathedral would ring when the Scarlets were called to services. Rell estimated they had another fifteen minutes before this happened, and they'd need to be in position to move quickly when they did.

As the patrol passed, they had a window of about two minutes when they could cross the area outside the wall, toward where the gap lay behind the military barracks. They hurried across and bypassed the gap over the smithy. Entering there would take them through the center of town in order to get to the entrance of the barracks. Instead, they hugged the rampart of the settlement, staying low and silent. Cautiously, they moved along the base of the wall until they came to the rounded tower at the end. Mathias peeked around, then motioned for them to follow. They'd still have to chance one of the streets, but they could stay hidden more easily from this direction.

There were ballistae on some of the towers, overlooking the center of town. Rell always found it disconcerting when a town's weapons were trained on the settlement itself instead of outward in defensive fortifications. It spoke of the Scarlets' deep distrust of their own people, even at this stage of their plans. It was no wonder Wyrmbane's Paladins were having difficulty with the assignment. He could see the gallows Addams had mentioned, and the body of the unfortunate woman who had been hanged only two days ago still dangling there as a warning. He also noted how Flynn flinched at the sight and looked away.

They ended up under the battlement of the barracks; Rell knew that there were watchmen above them, but they were underneath the eaves, where they'd be out of sight even if they weren't stealthed. There, they waited. Mathias huddled in Flynn's arms against the cold of the evening, and Flynn opened his greatcoat to wrap it around both of them. The Mathias Shaw that Rell had known before Pandaria would never have done such a thing. He'd have suffered the cold in silence, forcing himself to use it to stay alert. They stood there with Flynn's cheek pressed to Mathias's temple and he could see Mathias's trust in the man, and Flynn's open adoration. He found it encouraging, a spark of hope in an all-too-often dark world.

They waited until the bell sounded, then watched as the faithful streamed from their work and their homes toward the cathedral. Two hours. If all went well, they would need less than that.

Entering the barracks meant distracting one of the guards, as there was no way to avoid passing the field of vision of at least one of the two at the main door. Mathias tossed a handful of pebbles away, and the guard wandered over to see what had caused the noise, allowing the three of them to slide in quickly behind him. The layout of the barracks was a common one and they had no trouble finding their way up the stairs to the top floor, where the safe was. There were guards in the towers, but not on the doors into the administration office, given that the Scarlets would assume none were necessary inside the building itself.

Mathias gestured to each of them and pointed to a door, intending for them to guard both entries while he worked. Rell and Flynn each took one, watching, but they also observed Mathias, who had to come out of stealth to pick the lock. Rell could see his frustration as he tried different methods and different sets of tools, finally settling on both an appropriate anti-magic set and the proper combination for the tumblers. The operation took almost twenty minutes. "Flynn," Mathias whispered, gesturing him over. "You're faster than me, go over these documents while we watch the doors. You know what to look for."

Flynn nodded and hurried over, looking at the pile of papers and scrolls. Mathias took up Flynn's prior position and kept watch. Rell was astonished by the speed at which the man skimmed the material. He was concerned that Flynn might miss something, but he set pages aside and gathered several scrolls before pulling some blank pages from a desk drawer, tucking them into the middle of the stack and sliding everything back into the safe. Others he rolled as makeshift scrolls that might fool the eye at a cursory glance if the safe's door were opened, and put those in, as well.

"I pulled out everything that was encrypted," Flynn whispered as they all came together again. "There were a few documents that definitely have information about how they developed the conspiracy. These, though," he held up a few scrolls, "show that the prisoners downstairs in the dungeons are surety for troops when the Scarlets try to move against Anduin."

"Direct evidence of treason," Mathias murmured. Flynn nodded and tucked all the documents into an empty map case he'd brought along. "We have about ninety more minutes. We'll need to get across the main square and past the cathedral to get to Bloodspear's residence. I'm going to assume the boy and at least one keeper will be in the building when we enter." He gestured and they all hurried to leave the barracks building. They distracted the guard at the door again and dashed out as quickly as they'd come.

Crossing the main square was an exercise in evasion. They used every structure and object available for cover. Having to cross in front of the cathedral left Rell uneasy, but they managed, though all of them knew an overuse of distraction techniques would call attention to the fact that something unusual was going on. The cliff's edge behind the cathedral was too close to the building, and too hazardous to chance going around that way. The house inhabited by Bloodspear was small and tucked into the lee of the cathedral, close enough that if the guards sounded an alarm the guards on the cathedral steps might hear.

When they rounded the corner of the cathedral and found the small house, Rell almost laughed. The two guards outside the structure were nowhere near the door. Instead, they were under the eaves of the cathedral blatantly flirting with one another. It looked like they'd be occupied for quite some time. Mathias made quick work of the lock on the door itself and they were inside less than five seconds later.

Addams's report had given them a rough idea of the layout inside the building. Bloodspear's small study was on the upper floor. The alleged Menethil heir was two doors down from it. He could hear the faint sounds of a lute and a tenor voice singing. Rell was relieved, as it would cover any sounds they might potentially make during their excursion.

They avoided the single guard inside as they ascended the stairs. She was in the kitchen, not watching the corridor as they crept past and ascended the stairs. It looked like she had been assigned more to make certain the boy didn't leave than to guard against anyone entering, which was fine with Rell.

The lock on Bloodspear's study door was the work of a moment for Mathias, and he made short work of the magical lock on the drawer, too, as it apparently responded to the same type of magical tools he'd used previously. Rell guarded the closed door while Mathias and Flynn went over the materials inside it. 

Mathias snapped S.E.L.F.I.E. photos of several things but Flynn, flipping quickly through the diary, said, "This is it. This is your treasure trove. The kid doesn't want to be here, doesn't want to be a part of their plot." He looked around the room. "This diary is only for this year, but it looks like Lord Stick Up His Ass was part of a long-term plan. There are probably other volumes that'll have names and more details. Look at the bookshelves. Check for anything hidden."

Mathias handed him the camera. "Take photos of the most important pages. I'll check for the others." Flynn went through them quickly as Mathias did a thorough search. Once Flynn was done and the diary and other papers had been tucked back into the desk, Flynn joined the search. Rell was deeply conscious of the time ticking away from them as he listened to the quiet music from down the hall. 

"Forty five minutes left," Rell said, as the other two continued their work. 

A few minutes later, Mathias murmured, "I think I've got it." He moved a small table from a corner of the room and quietly pried up a floorboard beneath it.

"Gotcha," Flynn said, looking over Mathias's shoulder. "You think we can get away with taking these out of here?" 

Mathias nodded and pulled out the volumes. There were enough to fill both of the backpacks they'd brought. "Looks like about twenty years of material," he said, as he snapped the floorboard back into place. He and Flynn replaced the table. "Let's get out of here," Mathias said. "We have everything we need to decide what's next."

Rell nodded and opened the door a crack. No one was in the hallway. He motioned to them with one hand, and they all stealthed out again. Their trek across the center went as smoothly as their incursion, and they met Addams and Carroll outside New Hearthglen just below where the trail started back down into the Dragonwastes, out of sight and hearing of the mounted patrols.

"Was your mission a success, sir?" Carroll asked.

"We got what we came for," Mathias said, nodding, "but it's looking like we're going to have to mount a rescue tomorrow during the service and Jorgensen's guard shift. Be prepared for all four of you to evacuate the premises with the mission finished at the end of the rescue."

"A rescue mission with just the seven of us?" Addams sounded skeptical.

"I have a few people who can come along that'll be useful, and I think I have some options that can give us diversions, as well," Flynn said. "I won't know for sure until I talk to my crew."

"Be prepared to meet us here tomorrow about half an hour before the evening service begins. That'll give us enough time to organize our strike force," Mathias said.

"Will do, sir," Carroll said.

"Keep to the shadows," Mathias said. His agents vanished into the night. He turned to Flynn and Rell. "Let's get back to the ship. We need time to examine what we've found, and there's material that needs decryption."

"I think those diaries will have a lot of useful stuff in them," Flynn said as they set out at a hurried pace.

Mathias nodded. "It'll certainly solve the mystery of why Bloodspear disappeared late in the second war, and what she's been doing since then."

On the way back to the dinghy, as the darkness of night increased, they discussed the layout of New Hearthglen and what they would need to consider for the rescue mission. It was a relief to row back to the _Arva_ and get something to eat.

***

Flynn unloaded the books from his pack and dropped the map case with the other documents onto the table in his cabin as Mathias did the same. Mathias and Rell started sorting through the materials and laying out the photos they'd taken of pages and documents that couldn't be removed from Bloodspear's study. He started a fire in the stove because he knew Mathias was cold and wouldn't want to admit it. "This is a lot of stuff to go over," he said as he got the fire up and going. The evening had been long and a little tiring. "We should get some food from the galley before we get started."

"That sounds good," Mathias said. "Coffee, too?"

He closed the stove's door and went to his husband, wrapping him in his arms. "I'm sure Yun'll have some." He could feel some of the tension in Mathias's body melt away under his touch and that made him happy. Flynn pressed a kiss into his short, copper hair. "Why don't you change into something a little warmer, hmm? I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Rell's here."

Flynn chuckled. "I'm sure he'll turn his back if you're worried about it, love." He looked over at Rell, who had seated himself at the table with an amused look on his face.

"I've seen you naked in the showers at the SI:7 barracks, Mathias." Rell smirked.

Mathis sighed. "There is that."

"So," Flynn said, running one hand down Mathias's side and over his hip, "get into something warmer. You're freezing."

"All right. You have a point."

Flynn headed down to the galley. The crew had already eaten, and there was music playing when he walked in, but the place still smelled savory, and his stomach growled. 

"Did everything go okay?" Sparks asked.

He nodded. "As well as it could, but things got complicated and it looks like tomorrow around the same time, we're going to have to mount a rescue mission. I don't have any details yet, but I may need help from some of you." He looked around the room. Thurin and Bess were there, but Luvias wasn't.

"You know we'll all help if you need it," Johnny said.

"Luvias on mid tonight?" Flynn asked.

Harmen nodded. "Aye. She's getting some sleep."

"I may need her. Not sure yet. If I do and somebody's able to take the watch for her, that would be good." He had some ideas that he wanted to run by Mathias and Rell before he got her out of bed.

"I can stay up if you need me," Siward said.

"Thanks," Flynn said. "I'll let you know as soon as I can." He went over to the galley stove and lifted the lid from one of the pots. "Yun, what do we have tonight? And have you got any coffee ready?"

Yun got up from the table. "I thought you'd want some when you got back. I'll pour a pot for you. Dinner is lentil soup with some nice, tender goat and mushrooms."

"That sounds fantastic. All three of us could use it, I think. Can we get a tray together? We've probably got a few hours more work ahead of us before I can be sure what's going on and what we'll need. Thankfully, it's early yet."

"Of course!" Yun bustled around putting things together for them. Flynn got some crusty bread from where it was being kept warm in a covered basket by the oven and sliced it up to take along with the soup. Everything got put on a large tray and Flynn took it back to his cabin. With both hands full, he kicked the door a couple of times and Mathias opened it. He smiled when he saw Flynn and stood aside as Flynn entered, carrying the tray to the table. 

"It's food, mates." He set a bowl in front of each of them and put the rest of the things in the center of the table, then put the tray aside. Sitting with the others, they poured coffee and started in on dinner and discussion.

"We'll definitely have to go in, the same as tonight," Mathias said. "But when it comes to getting people out, we're going to need some distractions."

"You figure that the Mage can portal the hostages, the kid, and Rell to Stormwind with the documents?" Flynn asked.

"That would require the boy to be with us at the time," Rell said, "and I'm not certain we'll be able to have them all in the same place. At best, we can try to have the Mage portal out the people who are assigned to the barracks, but we'll need two teams striking at the same time. We're not going to be able to get six people to the other side of town once the jailbreak happens, and waiting around for the second group to get back to the barracks is too much of a risk."

Mathias nodded, chewing on some bread. "We're definitely going to require two teams, and distractions. There's little or no chance that both will be able to get out with the Mage portal, assuming we get one. The town does have a gryphon roost, though, so we can try to make use of that for a quick escape."

"I have an idea for the distractions," Flynn said, eating some of his soup. It was good and he sopped up some of the broth with the crusty bread, eating that, as well. "We can make some bombs tonight. Have them planted by the time we get there."

Mathias looked at him, brows drawn. "How?"

"We have a convenient Druid," Flynn said. "I have powder here, an engineer, and some explosives experts. We can probably have the bombs ready in two hours or so, with a remote trigger for one of us to carry so that they can be set off at the most convenient time."

Mathias reached for the map of New Hearthglen and laid it out on the table as Rell moved the bread and coffee pot aside so that it could be spread. "That's an excellent idea. Let's figure out where we need to put things for the most effect."

"How many sites do you think we'll have to rig?" Flynn asked. They all leaned in over the map and Mathias ran one finger over the details, muttering to himself.

"While we're creating a diversion, we should also destroy their capacity to rebuild immediately. The sawmill and the smithy, at minimum."

Rell nodded. "The armory."

"Their ship," Flynn added.

Mathias scrubbed at his beard. "Probably in the housing furthest away from the center, as well. The more people we can draw or keep away from the center while we're traversing the area, the better." He looked up at Flynn. "Five sites at minimum, then, with as much firepower as we can get."

"Right," Flynn said. He stood. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes. I need to get this rolling. Don't eat my soup while I'm gone."

Mathias looked at him, a practiced look of innocence on his face. "Would I do that?"

"Yes."

"You'd best hurry, then."

Flynn laughed and hurried back to the galley, where he had to interrupt the evening's entertainment. "All right, you lot, listen up. We've got a project."

Everyone looked up at him, suddenly all business. "What do you need, Captain?" Sparks asked.

"Bombs. At least five clusters, as powerful as you can manage. Fast as you can without blowing up the ship." Grixx and Relly put their instruments away and Harmen and Siward got to their feet with Sparks.

"We're on it," Sparks said. "Remote triggers or timers?"

Flynn nodded. "Remote. Something small that Mathias can carry to set them all off at the same time."

Relly said, "Simultaneous will definitely be easier with that method."

"We want big, distracting, and destructive." Flynn gestured at them. "I know you lot are good at that."

"We can add fireworks," Grixx said, her voice a low, delighted growl.

Flynn laughed. "I don't care what you add, so long as it keeps their attention. The flashier, the better."

"You are the best Captain," Grixx said, grinning. They all hurried for the gun deck. Flynn headed for the crew quarters.

He knocked on the door and entered the sleeping quarters. Luvias was curled in a hammock in cat form and looked up, blinking lazily. "Hmm?"

Flynn grinned. "So, Seaman Wildshore, how are you at planting bombs?"

She shifted back to her elven shape, a curious look in her dark eyes. "I'm intrigued, Captain. Tell me more."


	5. Into New Hearthglen

Late the next afternoon, Flynn gathered everyone for their mission to New Hearthglen. Luvias had planted the bombs that the crew had made the night before, securing them in the places Mathias had marked. Flynn looked over their teams as Mathias checked their bags. 

Luvias would be going with Flynn and Mathias to Bloodspear's house, as she could stealth with them. Bess and Thurin were going with Rell to extract the hostages in the barracks dungeon. Rell was carrying the documents and materials that were of immediate interest to SI:7 back in Stormwind. Most of Bloodspear's diaries would be staying on the ship in Flynn's safe; while their information was important, it wasn't as time-critical as the things Rell would be carrying, and he didn't need the extra weight on him.

Flynn leaned uneasily against the bulkhead, arms crossed over his chest, as Mathias briefed everyone. "We'll hope that the Mage in the cells will be able to make a portal to Stormwind, but if not, make for the gryphon roost and get back to the _Arva._ " Mathias paced the cabin, hands clasped behind his back as he spoke. "Addams and Carroll will meet us near the top of the path out of the Dragonwastes. Addams will join Rell and his team. Carroll will come with me. Jorgensen will be on duty in the dungeon. If all's gone well, Devlin will join my team. We'll all meet the Paladins at the barracks, where we'll split."

The crew members who were going along were armed and armored for a fight, though they all hoped that any actual combat would be minimal. "Rell and I each have communication devices. Rell, if you do manage to get a portal, leave the comms device with Thurin, in case we need it." Mathias offered the dwarf and the Tidesage each a small vial. "You and Bess make for the gryphon roost once the hostages are out. Each of you take one of these potions. It'll give you eighteen seconds of invisibility should you need it. Stay safe and avoid detection as much as possible -- doing _anything_ other than running is going to break the invisibility. You'll only get one because you can't use another for five minutes, and by then it'll be too late. Signal us when you're on your way."

"You got it." Thurin nodded. He and Bess took the vials.

He turned to Luvias. "We'll be going for the Pretender. He doesn't want to be there. With any luck, he won't resist when we try to extract him. We'll be procuring Bloodspear's diary and the documents from her desk at that same time. Once both extractions are done, we'll trigger the explosives to create chaos and cover our getaway." Looking back at the group as a whole, he continued. "We don't want to engage anyone unless we have to. Not everyone has stealth capabilities. Stay with one of the Rogues if you have a choice, and we can provide some cover. If you're forced to engage and you can't get out of it, make sure they're the ones that don't walk away from the encounter."

"Tidemother keep us all safe," Bess said.

Mathias leaned on the bulkhead next to Flynn, mirroring his cross-armed stance. Flynn could feel the heat of him radiating, he was so close. "Any questions?"

"Will there be enough gryphons for everyone to get out?" Bess asked, nervous.

Luvias nodded. "I counted twenty in the roost last night. They've got gryphons and gear for an entire aerial squadron. If most of the town is at the cathedral, there should be minimal resistance at the stables."

"Once everyone leaving that way has a gryphon, make sure the others are driven off so that they can't be used for pursuit," Mathias said.

"I'll be handing out smoke bombs to everyone before we go," Rell said. "Use one if you need it, to confuse the enemy and make your escape."

"Ideally," Mathias said, "everyone will get out of this alive and uninjured. That's not always the reality, however. Our priorities for this mission are as follows: first, as many of the documents as possible need to get to Stormwind. Second, we get the hostages and the Pretender out. After that, we worry about ourselves. Is that clear?"

A chorus of "Aye, sir," answered Mathias's question. Flynn knew his crew could handle this. They'd dealt with dangerous situations before, though going into a fortified enemy settlement wasn't generally what they'd dealt with. Defending the ship was normal for them; a raiding party was something else entirely, but they'd be competent at it. He figured if Bess could slap a pair of icebergs together, she'd have this, no trouble.

Mathias looked at their Druid. "Wildshore, can you tank if necessary?"

The look of confidence on her face faltered. "While technically I _can_ turn into a bear and be a wall of fur between you and our enemies, I'm really much more the make things dead from a sane distance type," she said. "If you need it, I'll do it, but let's hope you don't need it."

He nodded. "Understood. I prefer to have a realistic grasp of our options."

"We ready, then?" Flynn asked.

Mathias looked around the room. "Does anyone have anything else?" There was a moment of silence. "All right, then, let's begin. Keep to the shadows, everyone."

Flynn opened the door and let the others head for the deck, but he held Mathias back for a moment. "Mathias," he murmured. His husband looked back at him, hesitant. Flynn swept the man into his arms and held him close. "Just… be careful, love, all right?"

"The mission comes first," Mathias said, his voice quiet in the now-empty cabin. "But we can do this. We _will_ do this." He tugged Flynn's hair to pull his face close enough for a kiss and Flynn put all of his love into it, leaving Mathias breathless.

"For luck," Flynn whispered.

Mathias nodded, and they ascended to the main deck.

*** 

Rell watched as Bess propelled the dinghy to shore in less than half the time it took to row. The little boat was nearly full with seven people in it; Johnny was with them to row it back to the _Arva_ after they departed. Bess stood at the prow, her arms outstretched in the late afternoon sun, working her Tidesage magic. He'd never seen Flynn's crew in a fight; although he was familiar with Luvias, Bess and Thurin were unknown quantities to him. Flynn trusted them, though, and Mathias seemed content to believe his husband's assessment of their skills. He'd sailed with them before and had given Rell a good report of them.

The trek up to the meeting point with Addams and Carroll was uneventful, and they avoided notice easily. Magnataur patrols along the cliffside were few and they didn't have to expend much effort avoiding notice. Getting into New Hearthglen was more of a challenge. Rell had to extend his shroud of concealment to get Thurin and Bess across the snowy gap from the trail up the cliffside to the battlements of the town without leaving too-easily discovered footprints.

Carroll took Devlin from the barracks to meet with Mathias and his team. With a silent wish for Elune's blessing on all of them, Rell made his way down toward the dungeon, with Addams extending his stealth over Bess and Thurin on the way.

They narrowly avoided one guard before descending the stairs. Addams tossed a distract to move him out of the way, and they hurried down to the cell blocks. Bess and Thurin both looked like they were holding their breath as they scurried after Addams, and Rell followed to make sure they cleared everything successfully. It wouldn't do to lose any of Flynn's crew to an avoidable error. 

When they got to the door of the dungeon, it was guarded by a Paladin who wasn't Jorgensen. Rell knew that it had been a risk and that there would likely be others on duty outside. Thurin cast a mind control spell on the woman and Addams opened the door. Inside, Jorgensen waited. Thurin walked the other Paladin in with Bess and Addams while Rell watched over him. He had her sit down by one of the cells, where she was bound and gagged to keep her from interfering, then they followed the others into the room.

"You made it," Jorgensen said, reaching for a keyring on the wall. The prisoners sat in cells that lined the walls on either side.

"What's going on?" one of them asked. One of the warriors, Rell thought.

"We're here to get you out," Rell said.

"Thank the light," the Mage said. "I could portal us all out of this place, if these things weren't suppressing my magic. I've no mana at all. It never regenerates."

Bess nodded. "Once you're free of them, I can give you a mana potion. You'll be all right."

"Who has the key to her manacles?" Rell asked.

Jorgensen gestured toward the door. "The duty sergeant. He'll be up in the mess hall right now. There won't be many people up there, given that everyone's at the service, but he won't be alone." Addams was already picking the lock on one of the cells.

Rell sighed. Of course. "Where does he keep it? Pocket? Chain around his neck? Pouch? Will anyone up there have the ability to detect stealthed people?"

"Pouch," Jorgensen said, as he went to unlock one of the other cell doors. 

Addams shook his head as the first door opened. "Only the duty sergeant. Shouldn't be hard. I can go get it, if you want?"

"Do it," Rell told him. "I'll stay here and get the rest of the locks open." Addams vanished and Rell turned his attention back to their work.

"What will we do with this one?" Jorgensen asked, pointing to the bound Paladin currently sitting on the floor before he unlocked the Mage's cell.

Rell pondered for a moment as he worked on another lock. "We'll take her with us. It would be useful to have someone to question when we get back to Stormwind."

"They've been holding us here for months now," one of the Warriors said. "If I could just get my hands on some weapons, I'd repay them for their 'hospitality.'"

"Why are they even keeping us here?" one of the civilians asked. She clung to the bars as Rell worked to free the Warrior. Once he was freed, he took up the bound Paladin's sword. Jorgensen unlocked the fifth cell as Rell went to the final prisoner's cage.

Rell looked at the Warrior. "Stay here with us. We need to get everyone out. That won't happen if you go looking for revenge right now."

The Warrior grumbled but nodded. "Do you know why they were holding us?"

"As surety for troops to use against Stormwind." All of the prisoners murmured at that. "If all goes well here today, we'll have broken the Scarlets' base of power and crippled their plans."

The Mage spat, "My husband would _never_ willingly give troops to these fanatics."

Rell knelt by her side and examined the manacles. The lock was definitely magical. Mathias would probably be able to pick it, but he wasn't here, and Rell didn't have the same level of skill, or the right equipment. They'd have to wait for Addams's return. "That's why the Scarlets are holding you," he told her. "They've been fomenting treason for quite some time now."

Addams returned and handed Rell the key. "I saw half a dozen people in the building here. The duty sergeant is none the wiser."

Rell took the key and unlocked the Mage's manacles. "There. You should feel better shortly.

"Drink this," Bess said, handing her the bottle of mana potion she'd offered earlier. "You look like you need it."

The Mage took it and drank. A few moments later, she was looking less pale. "Get rid of those hateful things," she said. "I never want to see their like again."

"Are you able to cast now?" Thurin asked.

The Mage shook her head. "Give me a couple of minutes. I've been drained for so long, it's like I'm waking from a coma."

Rell nodded. "We don't have much time, but if you need rest, you need it."

A moment later, Rell's communicator crackled and he heard Mathias's voice in his ear. "Rell--" he sounded strangled.

"Shaw needs help!" Rell snapped. He tapped the communicator and said, "Help is coming, hang on," but there was no response, only the sounds of fighting. This wasn't good.

Thurin and Bess straightened up immediately. "We'll go," Thurin said.

"I'm with them," Addams said. "Get these--" The planted explosives went off, a series of thunderous booms in the distance, followed by a rather distinctive series of whistles and rattling pops that sounded suspiciously like fireworks. "Go, Rell! We've got this!"

"Wait!" Rell said. He pulled the communicator from his ear and handed it to Thurin. "Take this, just in case." Thurin did, and slid it over his ear, then nodded. He, Addams, and Bess ran for the door. "Now would be a very good time for that portal," Rell said.

With a rough, shaky breath, the Mage nodded. "Guard the door." She began casting. 

Rell grabbed the Warrior who'd wanted revenge by the shoulder as he started to run after Addams and the others. "No. We need to demonstrate to your families that you're _all_ free so that the Scarlets can't call upon their men. You stay _here_ with us."

The Warrior, his teeth gritted with anger, nodded and stood down. The portal bloomed. Rell sent the freed prisoners through to Stormwind, their captive Paladin held between Jorgensen and one of the Warriors, then passed through himself, side by side with the Mage.

***

Mathias led Flynn, Carroll, and Devlin across the compound from the barracks, each of the Rogues taking turns to cover Devlin as they moved. Luvais prowled along with them in her cat form, silent as a ghost.

There were more patrols near the cathedral now than there had been yesterday and he wondered if their incursion from last night had been noted, but they weren't yet in a place where they could speak safely. It worried him, and Flynn seemed uneasy as well.

Finally they made it to a sheltered place near Bloodspear's house, where they could relax their guard and not worry about Devlin being seen out of place. "What's going on?" Mathias asked, looking at Devlin.

"I don't know, sir. Things were normal when I called off sick from the service this evening. I hadn't heard anything about extra shifts." The Paladin looked worried. "This is about twice as many people as should be patrolling."

"They're expecting something," Flynn said. "And since we didn't see them by the barracks, they're expecting it here."

Mathias nodded. "Bloodspear probably noticed we'd been in her room. Damn it. I knew this operation was moving too smoothly."

"We still have to get in there," Luvias said.

"We can't leave without the Pretender," Mathias agreed. "As long as they have him, they can still push their plot. We need to remove that keystone."

"Patrol," Flynn said, ducking behind a shrub. They all joined him and Mathias concealed Devlin when the patrol got too close. They waited, silent, as the guardsman passed by before they could breathe again.

"I think we're going to have to eliminate more than one of them to get into the house," Carroll said.

Mathias nodded, drawing his daggers and reapplying his poisons. "Well, we wanted to destroy their capacity to make war on Stormwind. The more of them that die today, the fewer they have to rebuild with."

"What's the plan, then?" Flynn asked.

Mathias watched the movement of the guards. "The one who passed us just now will be back in about three minutes. We'll wait for him, kill him, and leave him here behind the shrubbery." He looked at Carroll. "Check and see how many we have to get through at the door."

Carroll stealthed again and headed off. Mathias gestured to another, at the rear corner of the house near them. "Flynn, can you eliminate that one without drawing attention to yourself?"

"I"m on it," Flynn said. He snuck over toward the indicated guard while Mathias waited for the roving patrol to return. A moment later, Flynn had knocked the man out and stealthed back with him over his shoulder. "Couldn't leave him there nor gut him and let him leave a blood trail to where he's concealed."

Mathias slit the guard's throat and left him where Flynn had laid him behind the shrubs.

"The guard's on the way back," Devlin said. Mathias nodded to Flynn, who concealed them. Mathias snagged the guard with a garrotte and dragged him back behind the shrub before killing him and leaving him there as well.

"Two down," Flynn said. They waited until Carroll returned.

"There are two at the door," Carroll told them. "I didn't see any other roving patrols in this area, though. Once we have them, we can bring them in with us."

"We may meet resistance once we're in there," Mathias said. "At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Bloodspear herself is waiting inside. They know we're coming. If she is, it's going to be a hell of a fight."

"What's the plan, Master Shaw?" Devlin asked.

"I have to pick the lock on Bloodspear's desk," Mathias said. "Devlin, you and Carroll are to retrieve the Pretender. Once we're in the house, we need to make sure everything is clear on the ground floor and the one above so there are no surprises." Everyone responded in the affirmative. "Last minute questions?" There were none. He looked each of them in the eyes. Flynn reached out and squeezed his arm. Mathias took a deep breath, tension twisting in his chest. "For the Alliance."

Flynn nodded. "For the Alliance."

***

Flynn dogged his husband's heels as they made for the door to the house. The others followed them, close behind. They were concealed from most of the compound by the cathedral building and the walls surrounding the area, so their first concern was the guards at the door.

Mathias and Carroll each sapped one and their team got into the ground floor fast, dragging their victims with them. Devlin closed the door behind them. The guards were dispatched quickly and left bleeding on the floor of the living room. Devlin and Carroll scouted the ground floor while Flynn, Mathias, and Luvias stealthed up the stairs toward Bloodspear's study. Mathias picked the lock on the door and they entered carefully; Flynn saw Luvias's nose twitch as she sniffed.

"Shaw--" Luvias said, but it was too late. Someone came out of stealth, then tried to wrap a garrotte around Mathias's neck and yanked. She was only partly successful, thank the Tides.

Mathias choked and reached for it with one hand as he tapped the communications device in his ear. He gasped, "Rell--" before the abyss broke loose in the room.

Luvias shifted into bear form and roared, then charged the woman, body-checking her. The communications device went flying, but the Druid's charge broke the assassin's stance. Mathias twisted out of her garrotte, gasping and holding his throat with one hand. Thank the Tidemother Mathias's uniform had that high bloody collar and those ridiculous stabby pauldrons that had snagged the thing on one side, because otherwise his head would be half off his neck.

Flynn fired his pistol and launched himself at the assassin too, as Luvias raked her bear claws across the woman's abdomen, shoving her back. Bloodspear. It had to be. She was older, about Cyrus's age, with grey hair and the hardest eyes Flynn had ever seen. He wondered, briefly, if Mathias's grandmother's eyes had been like that. The woman laughed as though none of them impressed her in the least. "Spymaster," she said, going for Mathias again, this time with daggers drawn, "Romano said you'd come."

Mathias blocked her first strike with his dagger in one hand, and reached for the bomb trigger, which had been tucked into his belt, with the other. Bloodspear's next attack sent it flying. Flynn slashed at her with his cutlasses and Luvias switched to cat form in mid-leap, going for the trigger. Barely a breath later, she had it and rolled across the room, turning into a translucent, star-dripping version of herself. She flipped the safety back and pushed the button, and Flynn could hear their bombs going off in the distance, followed by the sound of fireworks, and a chorus of startled shouts and screams.

Mathias had both daggers in hand now and Bloodspear's attention was split between him and Flynn. Luvias dropped bright slashes of energy onto the assassin from behind her, the sound of them loud in the small room. She gathered herself for a longer cast, but Bloodspar turned and she had to dodge a thrown knife before she could complete it.

With Bloodspear's attention on the Druid, Mathias shadowstepped. Bloodspear sidestepped as he moved and slashed at his arm between his gauntlet and his pauldron, striking skin and cutting deep, drawing blood. Mathias hissed and jerked back, stabbing as he dodged.

Flynn came at Bloodspear from behind while her attention was focused on Mathias, landing a solid blow on her off arm. Bleeding, she shook it off quickly and let fly with a fan of knives; all of them were hit by the blades, though the one that hit Flynn barely got through his coat. It didn't make it through the heavy winter wool shirt he was wearing beneath.

Luvias yelped and covered her wound with one hand. "Poisoned," she said. With a gesture, she cast some kind of green spell on herself, probably to hinder the stuff. Flynn looked at Mathias, who'd gone pale, struck twice by poisoned blades.

"Help him!" Flynn snapped, winding up and punching Bloodspear hard enough to knock her across the room. Luvias was by Mathias's side in a moment, casting a spell on him where he'd sagged against the wall before she stood and turned, a brilliant arc of starlight blasting from her hands into the assassin.

Bloodspear charged Flynn, death in her eyes. He barely managed to defend against her vicious attack. Luvias struck again with brilliant bolts of concentrated sunfire and moonfire, and Mathias shadowstepped, landing a solid blow to Bloodspear's kidney. The assassin staggered, furious.

"By the Light," she shouted, "you will not ruin the last twenty years of my work!"

"You won't destroy the Alliance!" Mathias snarled back at her.

Devlin came storming into the room and flung his shield at the woman, stopping her tirade for the moment; all of them attacked together. Bloodspear fought like a mad thing, cursing them in the name of the Light, though Flynn couldn't see how the Light had anything to do with the sort of plans she'd been cooking up all this time.

Flynn and Luvias both took more blows as the assassin did her best to kill them. He could feel the burn of the poison in the slash he'd taken across his arm, and the one over his cheekbone, but there was no time to do anything about it. When Carroll joined the fight, a terrified-looking young man trailing behind him, they finally overcame Bloodspear and dropped her, bloodied and gasping for breath, onto the floor of her study. She struggled to rise again.

Panting, Luvias cast another spell on herself, then on Flynn; while he was still dizzied by the poison, he could feel the effect of it easing as the spell worked. Mathias staggered over to the desk, shaking and bloodied, and opened the lock. Devlin and Carroll attacked Bloodspear until she stopped moving and took her last, shuddering breath. Luvias healed Mathias again as he worked; he grabbed the diary and all the papers out of the desk and stuffed them into Flynn's backpack.

"We need to go now," Mathias growled.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, his voice wavering. He was younger than Anduin; he couldn't be more than seventeen, Flynn thought. He was blond and slight, and had a lute case slung over his shoulder.

"The rest of the rescue party," Carroll said, taking the boy's arm. "Come. We have to get out of here while we still can."

They ran for the door and burst out into the little sheltered area beside the cathedral to find all of New Hearthglen in chaos, flames spreading everywhere. "The gryphon roost!" Mathias snapped, and started running. The air was filled with screams and shouts, and the smell of burning buildings. Smoke rose from the bombing sites and the spreading fires as people ran in all directions, panicked. The cold breeze blew it across the compound, leaving some places obscured by dark trails of the stuff.

The kid faltered. Flynn wasn't about to accept any hesitation about leaving at this point, so he scooped the boy up and slung him over his shoulder. Thank the Tides the kid was a mainlander, because Flynn doubted he'd have been able to heft a Kul Tiran that way, winded and wounded as he was from the fight. The boy struggled for a moment then went limp, apparently realizing that this was happening, whether he liked it or not.

Ahead, near the cathedral steps, he could see Bess, Thurin, and Addams coming toward them at full speed. They met at the foot of the stairs, the people of New Hearthglen running all around them. "It's good to see you lot!" Thurin said. "We were worried you were in trouble." They all turned together to head back toward the gryphon roost.

"That's far enough!" 

Flynn's feet froze to the ground, as did those of their entire group; the blistering cold of the ice shot through him, hurting like daggers. He hated that voice and turned to see Romano and Jeran Astoris, his Mage girlfriend, closing on them, a cluster of Syndicate Rogues and some of the New Hearthglen guardsmen moving with them.

"Neptulon's tentacles," Flynns spat. He drew his pistol and fired as Luvias shifted to bear form; his shot went wide. A tangle of roots and thorns sprang from the earth and rooted Romano and his people as the ice on Flynn's group started to melt away.

"Forget them!" Mathias shouted. "Run!" Flynn could see the fires spreading; much of New Hearthglen was already in flames. Flynn flung caltrops between them and Romano's people, hoping to slow them when the roots faded away.

Bess summoned a water elemental that began flinging frost bolts, then pulled her energies together and raised a wall of water between them and Romano's men, holding off their ranged attacks as Flynn and the others ran. Luvias waited with Bess, dropping spells on the few who had escaped her entanglement until the rest of their group were all nearly to the gryphon roost. Flynn looked over his shoulder as Luvias shifted to her flight form and she and Bess soared toward the roost. 

Astoris cast spells at them, clipping one of the Druid's wings, and they came spinning toward the ground before Luvias could steady again. They landed hard, tumbling as they hit. Devlin and Carroll ran toward them.

"Go!" Devlin shouted, "I'll hold them off!"

Flynn handed the kid off to Addams. "Take him," he said, "I'll be right back." Addams did, and ran. "The mission comes first," Flynn said. He shrugged off his pack and stuffed it in Mathias's hands. 

"Flynn--" Mathias reached out.

"Go!" He shoved his husband toward the gryphons while Thurin dropped brilliant bolts of light down on the heads of some of their advancing enemies. 

Flynn sprinted toward his crew members. He threw out some caltrops as he got to them and dropped a smoke bomb, obscuring them from view. "Bess! Grab hold and hang on!" A ring of light burst around Flynn as Thurin knocked enemies away from them. He wrapped an arm around Bess's waist and she clung to him as he whipped his grappling hook out and slung them back toward the gryphons. Luvias shifted to cat form again and dashed for the roost as well, limping; Thurin reached out with a spell and pulled her to him.

Mathias was already in the air, as was Addams, who had the kid mounted in front of him. Flynn and the others mounted up. Carroll sprinted for them and started driving off the remaining gryphons, scattering them to the sky.

"Leave one for Devlin!" Flynn shouted.

"He's not coming." Carroll leaped onto the last gryphon as they all lifted off. 

Devlin fought like a demon, roaring, "For the Alliance!" as the Scarlets and Romano's people charged him, scorching the ground beneath his enemies with holy light, spinning hammers of energy whipping around him as he battled. He transformed into a blazing, winged figure of light as the group fought to bring him down.

Arcane missiles and bolts of energy slashed close to Flynn and the others, but missed as the terrified gryphons fled the burning town. Flynn clung to his bird, gasping for breath. He hurt where he'd been injured, and the effects of Bloodspear's poisons hadn't been entirely banished by Luvias's spells, but they'd made it out.

"Did Rell make it?" Mathias shouted to Thurin.

"They're all safe!" Thurin said.

Flynn breathed a sigh of relief, even as he mourned leaving Devlin behind. They turned their gryphons toward Emerald Dragonshire and made for the _Bold Arva._ Soon enough, they'd have the wind in their sails for Stormwind.


	6. Legacy

When they got to the _Arva,_ it was healing spells and antivenoms and antidotes to poisons until everyone was sufficiently patched up to function, with the remainder of the crew getting her under sail as quickly as possible.

Mathias was still looking a little shaky after Thurin and Luvias were done with him. He'd taken more hits than Flynn had realized in the fight with Bloodspear. He was half dressed, an ugly bruise already forming where the garrotte had been tightened across one side of his throat. Flynn ran a gentle hand over his husband's shoulder and tugged a blanket off the bed, draping it over him. Mathias sighed and started digging into Flynn's pack.

He watched as Mathias laid out the documents from Bloodspear's desk on the table in their cabin. He set the most recent volume of her diary with them and sat to examine them. "How are you feeling?" Flynn asked.

Mathias sighed. "Miserable, but at least we got the job done." Flynn leaned over his husband and wrapped his arms around him from behind, holding him close for a moment. "Where's the Pretender?"

"With Addams and Carroll. No idea what they've told the kid. He didn't seem too happy to see the non-human members of my crew, though." The whole concept of that seemed strange. Sure, the undead were… well, he didn't like them much, but anyone else? They were just people, like he was.

"Whether he wanted to be the Scarlets' political figurehead or not, he was raised to believe all non-humans are lesser races." He leaned into Flynn's embrace. "He'll still be some variety of fanatic. It's going to be hard to pry him out of that mindset."

Flynn tightened his arms around Mathias. "That's not our job. Himself will probably find somebody to deal with him."

"I have no doubt that Anduin will try." He gestured at the papers and the diaries. "Somewhere in all of this, we're bound to have an actual record of who he really is, even if he's just some random orphan with a vague resemblance to Callia Menethil."

"I'll feel a lot better when we're home again and the problem's off my ship."

Mathias turned in Flynn's embrace and held him, resting his head on Flynn's chest. "So will I. Rell should already have sent a request to the Ebon Blade to move on what's left of New Hearthglen when he arrived in Stormwind with the hostages. It'll be days before I know what's going on."

"They'll probably send you an update by shark or something. We'll get there as fast as the winds and our Tidesage can take us, love." Flynn raised his hands and his fingers trailed over the rising bruise on Mathias's neck.

"I'm all right," Mathias murmured.

"I'm just thinking about all the times I've cursed those bloody pauldrons of yours, and then they go and do this."

"They did exactly what they were designed to do -- they kept me alive."

Flynn's chest tightened and he buried his face in Mathias's short, coppery hair; he held on to the man with all his strength. "They did," he whispered. He'd never complain about them again.

***

By the time they got to Stormwind, the Pretender had aggravated every member of Flynn's crew. Mathias was sick of him as well, but knew he had to hold his tongue until Anduin and Genn Greymane could weigh in on what to do with him. He'd sent a mail shark back to Stormwind with a brief report the day after their raid, but a thorough debriefing would have to wait until they returned.

Rell met them at the secure military docks with a brace of Royal Guards. The nature of their mission meant that Thurin's family and the others didn't know when the _Arva_ would return, but SI:7 would have been awaiting notification of her ensign on the horizon. The kaldorei looked him over quickly, assessing. "I was concerned when I heard your call for help," he said.

Mathias nodded and gestured at the Pretender. "We have the boy, as I wrote to you. He's been a handful. All the entitlement you'd expect from a teenaged noble despite having been essentially held prisoner by his keepers."

"Charming," Rell said, his voice flat. "We've had people on all the documents I brought back from the barracks. The hostages have been debriefed and sent back to their families, so the threat of the Scarlets raising an army has been seriously hampered. The Scarlet prisoner is in a cell and we've been interrogating her."

They watched as the Pretender was escorted from the _Arva_ and turned over to the Royal Guard. He carried his lute case strapped over his shoulder. "I am Caylem Menethil," the boy spat. "You will treat me with the dignity of my house."

"You're not in chains, and you're not a Menethil," Mathias said. "You'll be taken to a place where you'll be safe until we can decide what to do with you."

"A prison." Caylem glared at him.

Mathias shrugged. "If it is, I can guarantee you it'll be better than the room you were being kept in at New Hearthglen."

"You destroyed my _home!_ " he shouted, pointing at Mathias, accusation in his eyes.

Mathias gestured to the Royal Guards. "Take him up to the Keep." The Pretender would be kept there in the guest quarters, safely under watch, while SI:7, Genn, and Anduin decided how best to deal with all the loose ends. His presence in Stormwind, should it be known before they were ready to counter the Scarlet propaganda, could become a flashpoint for those bent on conspiracy. Mathias turned to Rell. "Let me say goodbye to Flynn and get the rest of the diaries and documents, then I'll come with you.

"Of course." Rell stood, relaxed but watchful, as Mathias hurried back aboard.

"I have to go up to SI:7 and the Keep now," he said, as Flynn reached out to him. Mathias took his hand. "I'm not sure when I'll be home tonight."

Flynn nodded. "I know. It's okay. I'll be there when you get in. You know I have to move the _Arva_ to her usual berth and deal with my salvage client now that we're back in port anyway. The bloke's not going to be happy with how long all this took, but at least it got done, and maybe I can argue him out of some extra hazard pay for the crew." His husband gave him a cocky grin, his eyes alight. "We did run into trouble, after all. No need for him to know it wasn't trouble at sea! And really, having to deal with that obnoxious little jellyfish deserves some hazard pay. Grixx is still spitting bolts about the kid's insults. We're lucky she didn't rip one of his legs off and beat him with it."

Mathias tugged Flynn into his arms and kissed him, then Flynn handed him the bag with the diaries and documents. "Love you," Mathias murmured. Flynn kissed him again.

"Go. The sooner you're out of here, the sooner you're home." They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Mathias turned away and went to join Rell for the ride back up to SI:7.

***

"Who is he, really?" Anduin asked. Mathias sat at the briefing table with him, Greymane, and Rell Nightwind, two days later.

"An orphan from Alterac with no known family name. It's possible his parents were somehow associated with the Syndicate, given the group's presence in New Hearthglen, and their participation in the recently foiled plot to assassinate you. I suspect there'd be more information on him, though, if they were."

Greymane leaned back in his chair, drawing his thumb and a finger through his beard. "Why would they put forward a Pretender and allege he was from the kingdom that fought for the orcs and betrayed the Alliance of Lordaeron?"

"Claiming descent through Calia Menethil might mitigate some of the old suspicions," Mathias said, "and there are those who would try to redeem the reputation of Alterac. We all know how convoluted politics gets."

"We're having all the pertinent information compiled right now," Rell added. "Given another few days, we'll be able to start disseminating it to counter the Scarlet propaganda and prove they don't have an heir to hand like they claim."

Mathias nodded. "We've also compiled a list of Romano's Scarlet contacts, and the people who were pulling his strings here in Stormwind. There's enough documented proof that we can demonstrate deliberate acts of treason from within the House of Nobles against you and begin legal actions against those nobles and their collaborators. We have the details on their plot to infiltrate and take over SI:7, as well." Some of those details included plans for the eventual assassination of himself, Renzik, and several other high-ranking members of the organization, with a list of those who were being set up to replace them. "He's still out there, along with Jeran Astoris. So long as that's the case, we're going to have to be alert for attempts to rebuild the Scarlet Brotherhood and strengthen the Syndicate."

Greymane picked up one of the piles of documents on the desk and flipped through them. "What's the status of New Hearthglen at the moment?"

"The Ebon Blade sent a dozen Death Knights in to deal with the place. Given the fact that they arrived the day after our escape, there weren't many left to offer resistance. The Scarlets had scattered and most of the town was deserted. They... " Mathias took a breath and let it out slowly. "They found Devlin's body and raised him into their ranks."

He supposed the Ebon Blade considered it an honor of sorts, but Mathias couldn't help a suppressed shudder at the thought. Wyrmbane wasn't going to be happy when he found out. Although many of the Death Knights served with honor in the Alliance's ranks, there was still a certain amount of unease at their presence among many of the champions and the general populace.

It sobered everyone at the table. "I know that we welcome them here, but it's still a heavy loss to bear, and a difficult thing to convey to the families. They're so… detached from their former lives," Anduin said. "People don't know how to mourn that kind of attenuated loss."

They were all silent for a moment, sitting with their discomfort. Mathias was the first to speak. "Caylem is going to be difficult to deal with. His indoctrination was thorough. He may not want the throne, but he still genuinely believes he's royalty, and he's still got the hardline human supremacist beliefs the Scarlets raised him with. The way he treated Flynn's crew on the way back from Northrend was appalling."

"There will no doubt be those still willing to rally to those prejudices," Rell added. "If the Alliance is to stand, these beliefs need to be rooted out and eradicated. With the destruction of Teldrassil and the introduction of so many new nations to our faction, Stormwind has been under a great deal of stress from the influx of refugees and new populations serving in our ranks and seeking their fortune in the capitol."

Anduin sighed and leaned an elbow on the table. "Believe me, I know. If the search for Sylvanas wasn't already taking so much of everyone's attention and energy after the end of the war, perhaps we'd be better able to deal with it all. The war effort stretched our funds almost to the breaking point, and there's not much right now to help everyone as they deserve." He shifted and stretched. "I need a break. We should get something sent up to eat before we try to decide how to handle Caylem and everything he represents."

*** 

Mathias came home to find Flynn reading on the sofa with some clean laundry hanging near the hearth. Even after the months they'd spent living together while both of them were actually home at the same time, it surprised him how domestic the man could be. He tugged off his gauntlets and dropped them on the table. 

Flynn looked up at him from over his book. "Hey, love." He paused for a moment as his eyes passed over Mathias's face and his stance. "Rough day, was it?"

He sighed and nodded. Dealing with the Caylem situation had been draining, and he'd still heard nothing from his agents about Romano's whereabouts. He suspected the man had thrown in entirely with the Syndicate at this point, so his people were checking their strongholds. It would all take time. "The number of things happening right now, while we're ostensibly at peace, is disturbing. It's hard to know where to focus my efforts, what my priorities should be. Everything's important. And still no news about the Banshee. It's maddening."

Flynn laid his book on the table and got up, opening his arms. "Come here, then."

Mathias went to him and leaned into him as Flynn's warm arms wrapped around him. He rested his head on his husband's shoulder and just breathed him in, his own arms around Flynn's waist. There were moments when he wondered how he'd made it through so much of his life without this; without support, without love, without the warmth of someone's arms around him at the end of a long day. He might still have to show the hard mask of the head of SI:7 to the world but, when he was here with Flynn, he could let himself relax. It was like he'd finally learned to breathe.

"Do you need anything?" Flynn asked.

"Just you," Mathias mumbled against Flynn's shoulder. Flynn nodded and simply stood there and held him until he was ready. He took a deep breath and stepped back. "Thank you."

Flynn tilted his face down and nuzzled Mathias's nose. "You never have to thank me for that, love. It's a pleasure to hold you, you know. Even if you're wearing the big stabby pauldrons."

Mathias reached for the buckles on them. "Help me get this stuff off." He wanted his day to be done. Flynn lifted them off him as the straps came loose, and it was like a burden being taken from his shoulders; not just the physical weight of the armor but the stress of the day, as well.

The belt was next, then his chest armor. He sat on the sofa and Flynn knelt and helped him tug off one boot. Mathias rested a hand on the man's head, threading his fingers into the long, auburn hair. Flynn looked up and smiled at him, then finished pulling the other boot off as well. Mathias untied Flynn's hair and let it fall loose; Flynn rested his head on Mathias's thigh for a moment, eyes closed, and ran one gentle hand up his calf. It always felt good to have his husband's hands on him and he sighed, feeling vaguely restless but content.

"Seems like you're in a mood," Flynn said as he rose to stand before Mathias.

He thought for a moment, then nodded. "I suppose I am."

"Do you need to talk?"

"Perhaps." The stresses of the day still swirled beneath the comfort of being home; he'd not be able to really relax until at least some of that had been resolved.

"Why don't we finish getting you into actually comfortable things, then, and you can tell me what's on your mind." Flynn offered him a hand and Mathias took it and stood, heading for the bedroom as Flynn picked up the armor he'd already shed and carried it after him, hanging it on its rack.

Mathias shed the rest of his armor and the underlayer and went to have a shower. The hot water eased the knots in his shoulders and neck. He could hear Flynn moving around the flat while he let the spray beat down on him for a few minutes. By the time he was out toweling off, he smelled coffee coming from the kitchen.

After he dressed he went back into the living room. "Is this a table talk or a sofa talk?" Flynn asked, two mugs in hand. He dropped onto the sofa and Flynn handed him his coffee. "What's bothering you, love?"

He sighed. "The kid." The whole mess was entirely too complicated.

"What a piece of work he is."

Mathias grimaced. "There are definitely times when I regret that the Alliance's best option for dealing with things is not always just 'stab it repeatedly until it dies.'"

"That good, eh?" Flynn blew on his coffee and sipped at it.

He nodded. "We spent hours today debating what to do with him. Killing him would legitimately cause more trouble than letting him live, but we need to figure out how to do that without either just throwing him in prison for having had the bad luck to be stolen by the Scarlets as a child and raised to be an ass, or letting him walk around loose to spread their extremist propaganda." Mathias drank his own coffee as Flynn leaned into him, shoulders pressed together in the warmth of the room before the hearth.

"There must be somewhere that's isolated enough." He nuzzled Mathias's ear. "How's the whole getting the truth out there thing going?"

"We're having much better luck on that. Legitimate press coverage of it, several of the House of Nobles members who were secretly involved in the conspiracy have been rooted out and are being dealt with, and we've had a purge of SI:7 members who were even peripherally involved with Romano's clumsy coup attempt."

He could feel a bit of tension seep out of Flynn's shoulders at that; he hadn't even noticed his husband had been carrying it until he'd relaxed. "So, the likelihood of you taking a dagger in the back at work has gone down again, right?"

"Considerably," Mathias said. "I'll admit, I'm relieved. Watching their network collapse around them was a thing of beauty." He huffed a mildly amused laugh and allowed himself a slight twitch of a smile.

"I love it when you're a scary bastard."

That drew an actual laugh out of him. "You may well be the only one who does."

"What can I say? Grumpy does it for me, when it's you." Flynn grinned at him. Mathias raised an eyebrow at him over his mug as he sipped. "I think it reminds me of when I first met you. All stabby and uptight and I wanted nothing more than to find a way to make you fall apart. The whole bloody idea was sex on legs."

"I find that difficult to believe."

Flynn shrugged. "You have to figure a bloke who was a pirate probably gets off at least a little bit on dangerous things. I don't think I'd have fallen for you nearly as hard as I did if you weren't at least a little stabby."

"I suppose that makes sense. I doubt I'd have been nearly so attracted to someone who wasn't able to back me up if necessary. My life's just too dangerous. The idea of trying to be with someone who couldn't defend himself…" Mathias shook his head. The thought didn't bear considering.

"I used to watch you, sometimes, from the docks," Flynn said. "Wondered what it would be like to be your friend. Wondered if you even had any."

"I didn't. Not really." Not strictly true, but close enough. His life had changed so much.

"Did you ever want one?" There was no teasing in Flynn's voice.

Mathias shook his head. "I had myself convinced it was a bad idea, that no one would even really _want_ to be friends with a man like me. I barely had a life, especially after Suramar. I suppose I started to rethink that around the time of the treasury mission."

Flynn smiled. "My irresistible charm, no doubt."

"Your competence in a fight and your ability to think on your feet."

"But also my charm."

Mathias chuckled. "Also your charm." He finished his coffee and slid an arm around Flynn's shoulders, tugging him in for a kiss. "But it was a moment during the mission to Zandalar that changed my mind. When you were off balance and you stumbled into me. You were... " Mathias could feel himself blush, remembering it. "You were so warm, there against me," he murmured. "You smelled so good and I don't know why, but it got through all my defenses. I suspect, even if I hadn't been forced to do nothing but sit and think in that prison cell, eventually something would have happened between us." He set his mug down and ran his fingers into Flynn's long, loose hair. 

Flynn set his own mug aside as well. "Told you I was irresistible." He kissed Mathias, slow and soft.

"You are," Mathias whispered, his lips moving against Flynn's as the kiss eased back. "I am hopelessly, helplessly addicted to you."

"Good thing you married me, then. I won't say you made an honest man of me. Not sure that's possible." He grinned and nipped at Mathias's lower lip. "But you've absolutely made me your own."

"Scoundrel."

"Yours."

Flynn nipping at his lip stirred something in him and he was conscious of a slowly growing tug of arousal within him. "Mine." Flynn's fingers trailed up his shoulder and to the place at his throat where the garrotte had gotten past his pauldrons. He knew there was still a fading bruise there. He kissed Flynn again, hard and deep. "I'm fine."

"I know."

Mathias turned and slid to his knees in front of Flynn, his hands slipping down the man's body, tracing the lines of his waist and flowing down to his hips. Flynn's eyes asked a question and Mathias answered by reaching to unfasten his trousers; Flynn leaned back into the sofa and spread his legs to let Mathias come closer. He opened Flynn's pants and tugged his shirt up, out of the way; he wasn't hard yet, but that wouldn't take long.

Even soft, Flynn was a big man. Mathias's hand closed around him and he made a quiet sound of pleasure. His eyes closed and Mathias leaned down, inhaling the musky scent of him. Flynn's fingers twined into his short hair, stroking, as Mathias slipped his tongue under the foreskin of Flynn's cock, teasing. Flynn made a soft sound of approval, his hips moving a little. Mathias could feel him growing slowly harder as he took the whole head into his mouth and sucked gently.

Flynn's fingers tightened in his hair, pulling a bit, and it sent a spark of arousal skittering along Mathias's nerves. He took a shuddering breath and started slowly moving up and down his husband's hardening shaft. He would be hard soon as well; the act of sucking cock had always aroused him. Feeling another man harden against his tongue, growing longer and thicker, the slick skin soft in his mouth, was deeply erotic to him.

Flynn's breathing was harsh now, his hips moving slowly but still gently as he came to full hardness. "You're so good, love. You feel so good." Mathias opened his own trousers and took himself out; his growing erection had started pressing uncomfortably against the cloth, and he stroked himself as he sucked and licked Flynn. "Love it when you do that," Flynn murmured, pressing deeper into Mathias's mouth. "I love how much this gets you off." Mathias moaned in response to another tug at his hair. "Can you take more?"

He sucked Flynn down deeper, his mouth full, lips stretched around the thickness of him. "That's… oh, that's good." His hand slid down Flynn's shaft, caressing the man's bollocks, and Flynn shivered. It all felt fantastic; Flynn's cock in his mouth, his hand moving on his own shaft, the strong, masculine scent of him filling Mathias's senses. He sucked harder and Flynn shuddered. "A little more, love, please. Suck harder."

He could feel Flynn getting close, the beat of his heart quick and strong as Mathias's own. He stroked himself faster, his fist tighter as he gave Flynn what they both wanted. They spent long minutes at the edge, with Mathias's awareness narrowed to this tiny space between his lover's thighs, the heat of him, the slightly bitter, salty taste of the fluid on his tongue. Finally, it was more than he could take, and he shuddered through a sweet, deep orgasm, moaning around the cock in his mouth.

Flynn pressed in a moment later, gasping and thrusting recklessly, until Mathias stroked him through his own release, letting the man come in his mouth, hot and overwhelming. There was enough that it leaked out before he could swallow it all, trickling down Flynn's slowly softening cock as both of them gasped for breath. Flynn tugged him up by his hair and kissed him, fierce and longing, not caring that Mathias was still sloppy with it. They held each other, Mathias kneeling between Flynn's thighs, and slowly found their breath.

***

Genn Greymane entered Anduin's conference room, trailed by a worgen Druid. "I believe I have a solution to our pressing Scarlet Brotherhood problem," he said.

"Please," Anduin said, "have a seat, both of you." Mathias waited, wondering how many flaws they were going to find in this proposal. It had been over a week now since they'd brought the boy back, and he was still little better than an obnoxious prisoner in the Keep's guest wing.

"I contacted Celestine yesterday and she agreed to come and speak with us," Greymane said.

The Druid nodded to Anduin. "Your Majesty. King Greymane spoke to me about the situation you face with young Caylem. I appreciate the difficulties he presents due to the Scarlet Brotherhood propaganda that's been circulating. I've been authorized by Koda Steelclaw to offer the services of the Druids of Nighthaven in Moonglade to keep the young man safely contained and, we hope, to eventually show him the error of his ways. King Greymane told me that he'd been raised with a great distaste for non-humans, and a fanatic embrace of the extremes of the Light. It's our hope that the influence of Elune and Cenarius might be able to counteract some of this and to demonstrate to him that there are other options in the world."

"You're aware that he currently refuses to believe the evidence we have that he's not Calia Menethil's son," Mathias said.

Celestine nodded. "We understand. It's our hope that some exposure to the Dreaming might bring him closer to the truth during his time with us. Perhaps he'll find some contact with his actual ancestors."

"Moonglade is extremely isolated," Greymane said. "The only land route into the region is through a furbolg warren, and they will normally attack outsiders that they don't recognize. The boy won't be getting out that way."

"The mountain range is otherwise impenetrable, except with a flying mount," Mathias said, nodding. It might work. "The hippogryph keepers and flight masters can be instructed to not allow him any access."

"The Moon Festival will be coming up soon," Anduin said. "The entire area is filled with people from all over Azeroth during that time. It might be easy for him to slip out while the people of Nighthaven have their attention on the festivities."

Celestine nodded. "We know. We do have other options. He could be kept in the Dreaming during that time, away from any access to others, if we haven't seen any progress between now and the festival."

Anduin nodded. "That seems like a solid plan. If we send him to the Druids along with copies of all the documentation regarding where and how the Scarlet Brotherhood found him and how they trained him and warped his mind, there's some chance he could change. As it is, he's not a direct threat to the Crown; he has no interest in politics. He wants to be a musician. If we let it be known that he's safe with the Druids, there's less chance of anyone claiming we've murdered him to keep him out of power."

"I'll need periodic updates on him," Mathias said. "We'll need someone to file a weekly report so that we know he's secure, and how his… reeducation is progressing. SI:7 needs to be certain of his location and of any changes to his status, and his attitude."

"We can do that," Celestine said. "I'll speak with the Archdruids and have several people assigned to him for security. Although the Cenarion Circle has no particular connection to any faction, a threat to the leadership of the Alliance at this point would certainly destabilize the armistice, and that would cause problems for everyone."

Greymane shifted uneasily in his seat. "I can't imagine the Horde wanting to see a High King put in place by the Scarlet Brotherhood any more than we do."

"Nor the Ebon Blade," Mathias said. He looked at Anduin. "As the head of SI:7, I approve of this option. It's better than most of what's been noised about for the last week in these chambers."

"Then that's what we'll do." Anduin gestured to Celestine. "Please arrange for an escort of Druids to take him to Moonglade this week. Have Spymaster Shaw approve the security arrangements before he's transported."

"I shall, Your Majesty." Celestine rose. "If I may be released, I'll go and begin making the arrangements at once."

Anduin nodded. "By all means, and thank you." Celestine bowed to him and to Greymane and departed. Anduin turned to Greymane. "And thank you, Genn, for contacting the Cenarion Circle. It was an excellent idea, and it relieves one of my larger headaches." He looked at Mathias. "Please see to it that copies of the necessary information are provided and sent along with Caylem when he's transported to Moonglade."

"I shall."

"And now," Anduin said, "let's hear the report on what's happening with the Syndicate."

One problem dealt with, and a thousand more reared their heads. It was, Mathias knew, just another ordinary day in Stormwind.


End file.
